


Louder Than Thunder

by Beneath_the_Trees



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: A little bit of self-loathing, All of season 2 and 3, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fear of Broken Bones, Fear of Thunderstorms, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Football | Soccer, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Innocent love, M/M, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Mentions of Blood, Minor cursing, Nightmares, Not-So-Secret Secret Relationship, Panic Attacks, minor depression, tags will be added as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-01-16 23:58:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 135,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12353208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beneath_the_Trees/pseuds/Beneath_the_Trees
Summary: Yukimura Yoru was not a normal footballer. He seemed normal enough, aside from his differently colored eyes, but his teammates knew that there was something… special. His eyes were unnaturally sharp, digging into another person as if he could see through their very soul. He created plays that made the team better, stronger; more together than they had been before. He analyzed every little detail of a person’s psych, and saw what others didn’t.In under a year, he became Hakuren’s “Northern Star”, pointing the team towards victory with shocking ease beside the Prince of the Snowfield, Fubuki Shirou.This is the story of how they fought their demons and created a bond that pulled both of them from the suffocating thoughts plaguing their mind.This is the story of how they became each other’s savior.





	1. Prologue: When the Prince Found a Star

When Yoru and his family first moved to Hokkaido, he had finally learned how to walk properly again. Of course, he still had a small limp, but it was barely there and was miles better than constantly needing crutches or- god forbid- a wheelchair. An ugly scar ran along the length of his right calf, starting from the ankle, and the muscles didn’t quite stretch the way they used to before sending a shock of pain up his leg.

After getting his ankle almost completely shattered and his tibia broken almost a year before, Yoru had resigned himself to the fact he could no longer play soccer the way he used to. He couldn’t be a frequent replacement, much less a regular. His previous teammates had been almost suffocating about the accident, when there were two months left in the school year, he and his parents decided to move. Why they moved to Hokkaido, he wasn’t entirely sure. It was different from the warm beaches of Okinawa, and the cold hurt his leg more than he’d care to admit.

It was nice, though, being surrounded by the snow and the cold. He felt at home. The ache in his leg would go away the more he moved, and even though he could no longer play soccer the way he wanted, he could still train and do other things. He could ice skate and snowboard, as long as he didn’t try any fancy tricks, and he could have snowball fights with the other kids. Along with that and his habit to bounce his leg during classes, he was almost always on the move and able to keep the cold from getting to his leg.

Perhaps that was why his parents enrolled him into Hakuren. It had all of those things, and they even had a soccer team with nice kids on it. He could watch them, help them along if they needed it. Or… that was the plan, anyway.

The first day he stepped into Hakuren’s halls, he had been blown away by the air of comfort and warmth that radiated through the school, the simplicity of the building, and how friendly so many of the students were. He wandered to where he remembered seeing the soccer field, and once more he had been blown away. This time, though, it was solely because of the people.

A good portion of the team still needed work, but their captain, a short boy with light gray hair, droopy cool grey eyes, and shy smile, was absolutely _fascinating_. Yoru carefully went down the ice-covered steps to the soccer field, watching as the captain quickly took back the ball with a hissatsu technique that seemed to freeze the opponent in place for a brief moment- long enough to get the ball. He stood off to the side of the field, crossing his legs at the ankles as he leaned lightly against a bench.

The captain ran forward, and Yoru had to hold in a gasp as the boy transformed right in front of his very eyes. The ends of his hair stood up to be pointier, the shape of his eyes grew sharper, and his irises turned into glowing amber. He ran for the goal and when he drew near, he jumped, keeping the ball close to his feet as he spun and froze the air around the ball, encasing it in ice. “Eternal Blizzard.” Yoru heard him say softly, and he hummed quietly.

The captain landed lightly on his feet, a hand on the ground to keep him steady, as more freezing air and snow wrapped around the ball before jumping up again, spinning around to gain momentum before launching it at the goal. It easily tore through the defenses his opponents put up, and his teammates cheered as the freezing blizzard made it in. Yoru grinned, clapping as he watched and gaining the attention of the team.

The captain transformed back into that shy version of himself, sleepy grey eyes and all, as he turned to face Yoru, confusion lighting up his eyes. “Who are you?” He asked curiously, and Yoru smiled, giggling a bit.

“I’m the new transfer student, Yukimura Yoru. I hope you guys don’t mind me watching.”

“Yukimura Yoru?!” One of the kids shouted, and Yoru’s smile turned strained for a brief second. Apparently at least one knew of him. “The one from Oumihara?!”

“Ah, yes…” Yoru said softly, bowing his head for a moment.

“Oumihara?” The captain asked curiously, before smiling and holding out his hand. “Well, I’m Fubuki Shirou, captain of Hakuren’s soccer team. Nice to meet you, Yukimura.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Fubuki.” He smiled brightly, shaking the boy’s hand. “You guys are pretty good, even though you’re a bit inexperienced!”

“Thank you. We’ve been practicing real hard.”

Yoru’s smile only grew, and he giggled again. “I bet! One day you’ll be really good, trust me!”

Fubuki’s smile grew as well, the entire team radiating pride. “Do you want to join the team?” He asked after a moment, and Yoru’s smile fell again, shrugging.

“I… can’t really play anymore, actually.” He admitted after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “My leg got pretty messed up last year, so I’ve sort of been put on permanent reserve, and I quote by my doctor, ‘Unless the situation is dire’.” Fubuki frowned at that, nodding solemnly as some of the kids behind him let out small groans of disappointment. Yoru looked up at them from behind his bangs, smiling shyly. “I, uh, I could be a manager for you guys though, if you’ll let me. I can still help you practice, too…. Probably just not physically.”

The team cheered at that, making Yoru and Fubuki laugh softly. Fubuki smiled at Yoru. “I can take you to Coach Takayama, and we’ll see what he has to say about it. He’ll probably let you onto the team in a matter of seconds, to be honest.”

“Lead the way.” Yoru smiled, motioning to the area around them. Fubuki nodded and after telling the team to get ready for morning classes, led Yoru back towards the school building.

“Coach normally finds the mornings too cold, so he stays inside the school during morning practices.” Fubuki explained, and Yoru nodded, laughing a bit.

“I can understand that, I felt like I was going to freeze on the way here.”

Fubuki smiled, letting out a chuckle of his own. “You’ll get used to it soon, I’m sure.”

“Already have, for the most part.” Yoru grinned at Fubuki, before looking around as they went back into the building. “So how long have you been captain, Fubuki?”

Fubuki hummed thoughtfully, a small smile playing on his face. “About a year, since we started the club…”

“Really? That’s awesome! You’re a very good choice already, I can tell.” Yoru said happily, smiling a little proudly as Fubuki blushed in embarrassment.

“Oh, I really don’t know about that…” He said softly, scratching lightly at his cheek as he smiled.

“You’ll do great, Fubuki.” Yoru said confidently, already having faith in the soccer team’s captain. Fubuki smiled shyly at him still, before sighing softly and motioning to the door they were in front of.

“Well, here we are. This is Coach Takayama’s office. You can usually find him here or in front of the school if it isn’t time for practice.” Fubuki explained before knocking on the door.

A loud sneeze came from inside, shortly followed by a sniffle and a slightly muffled, “Come in.”

Fubuki and Yoru entered the room, and Yoru looked around curiously, taking in the small room.

“Fubuki! Who is this?” The man in the room asked, and Yoru blinked in surprise as he took in the many layers the man wore before smiling and giving a small bow as Fubuki motioned to him.

“Coach Takayama, this is the new transfer student, Yukimura Yoru.”

“Yukimura Yoru?!” The coach raised his voice in surprise, and Yoru laughed nervously.

“Yes sir.”

“How’s the leg? Did it heal well?” Takayama asked, and Yoru raised his hand, giving him the ‘so-so’ gesture.

“I’m afraid I can’t play as a regular, if that’s what you’re hoping for, sir. I _was_ hoping to become a manager, if you’d like me to…”

“My boy, it doesn’t matter what you do! It’s an honor to have you here!” Takayama said happily, standing and shaking Yoru’s hands excitedly. “We’ll surely get better in no time with your help!”

Yoru let out another nervous laugh, blushing lightly in embarrassment. “Please, sir, I’m not that special!”

“You were the command tower of Oumihara for your entire freshman year, along with being an amazing forward! You made a name for yourself, my boy, just like our Fubuki.” Fubuki joined Yoru in soft nervous laughter, both of them blushing from the praise they were receiving. Yoru was finally given his hand back as Takayama turned back to his desk. “I’ll get you a special jersey, one just for the manager of the team! Oh, or should it be like the others? Too many options!” The man sneezed, apologized, and smiled at the boys. “You two run along to class now, alright? I’ll get everything sorted by the end of the day!”

Fubuki nodded, and he left the room with Yoru close behind, closing the door when they were out. “You must have been special, huh?” He said softly, and Yoru shrugged.

“I never thought I was. I just… have a knack for seeing things others don’t, is all. I was no ace, like you.”

They fell silent after Fubuki let out a small hum of acknowledgement, but it didn’t last long. “Do you know where your classroom is?”

Yoru shook his head, smiling. “Not a clue. Help me find it?”

“Of course! You’re a second year, right? The classrooms are this way. Which class are you in?”

“Uh… let me think…” Yoru hummed, trying to remember which class he was in. “Oh! I’m in class 2-B.” He said cheerfully, and Fubuki smiled.

“That’s great, I’m in that class, too!”

\------

Yoru lightly bounced his leg, glad he was in a seat against the wall. It made his worries about distracting the people around him ease up a bit, and Fubuki sat close by to him, which made the classroom feel just a little less suffocating, knowing there was someone he was certain he could trust near him.

The classes each day went by smoothly, but whenever there was a lull in Yoru’s concentration, he always found himself going back to Fubuki. Just what caused the captain to change so much, and why did it seem no one _truly_ noticed?

He was afraid to ask. In the past few weeks, he had cemented a friendship with Fubuki, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask personal questions, or even casually bring it up in conversation. He had his own demons, after all, and it would do no good for Fubuki to share while Yoru cowered away.

Thankfully, they both seemed to understand each other, that way.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day, and Yoru groaned as he leaned back in his seat, stretching out his legs beneath the desk. The muscles in his leg stretched uncomfortably tight, and he let out a small hiss of pain.

“Bad day?” Fubuki asked as he walked up, and Yoru simply nodded, pushing his chair back and carefully standing.

“The muscles have refused to loosen up all day.” He explained, sighing. He’s found that some days, the phantom pain of an injury still licked at his heel, creeping along his leg until it made his muscles seize and his leg ache so uncomfortably, pain relievers could do nothing to help. “I’m hoping some exercise will help… what are you and the team planning on working on today?” He asked, smiling at Fubuki as he put away his things and they started making their way to the locker rooms.

Fubuki hummed, tapping his chin as he thought about it. “Well, Kitami was saying something about wanting to work on his speed.”

“Some third years were saying that, too.” Yoru mentioned absentmindedly, and Fubuki nodded. “How about we snowboard then? A good portion of the team _does_ need to catch up to you, Mr. ‘I’ve done everything snow-related since I was little’.”

Fubuki chuckled. “I haven’t done _everything_ since I was little.”

Yoru shrugged, grinning at his friend. “You know what I mean, silly.”

When they got to the locker room, Yoru went to his locker and quickly changed from the school uniform into the outfit Coach Takayama had made specifically for him, which was a top almost identical to the soccer uniforms, dark blue sweatpants, and a dark blue tie. Fubuki placed his bag in his own locker, grabbing the helmet he stored in it.

“Alright…. Let’s go say hi to the rest of the team and get started on training.”

They left the locker room and as they stepped outside, Yoru stopped. “You go tell them what we’ll be doing. I’ll grab the rest of the equipment, okay?”

“Got it.” Fubuki smiled, giving him a thumbs up before making his way to the soccer field. Yoru watched him leave for a moment before he went to the place they stored the snowboard, skis, and other miscellaneous equipment. He steadily moved the snowboards and helmets to the slope with help from some of the other students, and when he was done he thanked the students who helped before getting set up for the training himself.

As he was strapping his feet safely onto the snowboard, the rest of the team came over. He smiled in greeting as he stood, positioning himself at the edge of the slope. “In case Fubuki didn’t tell you, I’ll be joining in on the training today. Try to keep up with us!” He gave a playful wave before he tipped himself over the edge, shaking only slightly as he figured out his balance. Soon enough he heard a few soft shouts of excitement, and he knew some of the other kids had joined in already.

He laughed happily as someone caught up to him quickly, noticing almost immediately that it was Fubuki. He smiled at Fubuki as they dodged one of the giant snowballs still firmly planted in the slope. “Nice to see you’ve caught up!” He said happily and Fubuki laughed and smiled in return before quickly getting ahead of him.

“Now it’s your turn!” Fubuki called, using his speed and momentum to go up the side of the slope and do a flip. Yoru grinned and centered himself as he went around another snowball, quickly catching up to Fubuki as he went along the side of the slope. They wove around each other with ease, and it made it startling easy to forget about the ache in his leg.

\----

Rumors about Fubuki began spreading fairly fast, once Hakuren’s team started playing in official matches. Yoru wasn’t particularly sure who started them, either. He knew that the ones that made Fubuki out to be a big giant of a teen were started by kids that, at the very least, didn’t go to Hakuren. After all, anyone and everyone at the school knew who Fubuki was. He was popular, friendly, and his skills were second to none in the school.

Of course, not everyone was his friend. Fubuki chose those wisely, and even though he was friendly, he was still timid and shy. Most of his friends consisted of his teammates, from what Yoru had seen.

Still, everyone on the team- even Fubuki himself- enjoyed seeing the surprised look on strangers’ faces when they found out the alleged ace-striker and bear killer was a slightly-shorter than average boy. They were also surprised to find out that Yoru, striker and command tower of sunny Oumihara, was there in the middle of ice and snow covered Hokkaido instead of Okinawa, and that he was less a command tower now and more a strategist and trainer-to-be. They’d question why he stopped, why he didn’t go back to playing.

Yoru didn’t try to remind the strangers that he didn’t stop playing by choice.

So far, Yoru had only been around for half of the second semester of school. He was finally starting to get used to the cold, but his leg continued to have good days, bad days, and as a recent development, _very_ bad days. His new doctor said that it was probably the bad days from Okinawa mixing with the bad days in Hokkaido.

When Yoru had lived in Okinawa, bad days consisted of his leg cramping up and feeling the bones creak and pop each time he moved it, pain flaring up it and scar hot to the touch.

Now, the bad days consisted of the cold cramping up the muscles too much, his scar running hot and an ever present ache in his leg that only turned to pain if his muscles protested the movement.

The doctor said that the very bad days were both of those mixed together, and although Yoru hated to admit it, she was probably right. It felt like all progress he had made had disappeared in the blink of an eye those days; so little helped to lessen the pain, and his limp always returned full force.

Fubuki had come to notice these days, oddly enough. Although Yoru supposed it _was_ fairly easy to see to anyone with eyes. His leg would bounce less in class, he wouldn’t join in for practice to keep himself in motion, he’d sit with his leg stretched out as much as he could bear, and he always, _always_ had that awful limp. Perhaps he had just wished no one would notice how far he had fallen, and Fubuki had always seemed like he had his own problems to focus on.

He was glad Fubuki noticed, though. One of the days where tears had sprung to Yoru’s eyes and he had nearly sobbed in the locker room from pain when he thought he was alone, Fubuki approached and told him about a bath house near the school that mimicked natural hot springs. He had taken him there and the heated water and steam eased the pain away almost instantly.

He was fairly sure he thanked Fubuki almost a thousand times, and suddenly, it became a regular thing. Yoru went through a very bad day, Fubuki and he went to the bath house after practice.

It was nice. It was natural.

\-------

Yoru officially meeting “Atsuya” had not been planned. It had gone about as smoothly as it probably could have, sure, but it was still something that had not been a part of the plan.

His older brother Natsume and he had been driving home from town when they passed by the infamous Northern Ridge, and he saw Fubuki standing next to a shrine at the side of the road, alone.

“Hey, bro, pull over.” Yoru said, and his brother did so without complaint, sighing and shaking his head as Yoru scrambled out of the car. Yoru ignored his brother’s silent exasperation, rushing over to Fubuki. “Fubuki! Hey, are you alright?” He asked, trudging through the almost slush-y snow. Summer had come and although the air had warmed up some, the snow was determined to stay, and this area was even more dangerous than usual because of it.

Fubuki jumped slightly at the sound of Yoru’s voice, an unreadable expression on his face before he smiled. “Oh, hello, Yukimura.”

“What are you doing out here so late?” Yoru asked, and Fubuki had given a small shrug.

“I was… visiting, I suppose.” Fubuki said softly, and although Yoru was curious what he meant, he did not push further. He vaguely remembered hearing something about Fubuki being an orphan, but he wasn’t sure if that was a rumor or the truth, so he quickly shoved the thought aside as he clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at his friend.

“Well, it’s really dangerous here, as I’m sure you know,” Fubuki’s smile fell slightly, and small danger signs flashed in Yoru’s head so he quickly continued. “Would you like my brother and I to take you home, or at least close to it…? Again, it is getting pretty late, and I don’t want you to be caught out here in the dark.”

Fubuki had stared at Yoru in what surely must have been surprise before he smiled again. “That’d be great, thank you.”

Yoru grinned, turning around on his good leg’s heel and motioning for Fubuki to follow. “Then come right this way!” He led Fubuki to the car, opening the door for him before getting in once Fubuki was settled. “Natsume, Fubuki Shirou, Fubuki, my brother Natsume.” He introduced, and Natsume smiled, waving to Fubuki.

“So you’re the one Yoru won’t shut up about.” Yoru blushed, leaning forward and swatting at Natsume’s arm.

“Natsume!” He whined as Natsume and even Fubuki laughed.

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Natsume rolled his eyes, still smiling as Yoru sat back and crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. He looked at Fubuki again. “Nice to meet you, kid. I hope my brother hasn’t caused you any trouble.”

“He’s been no trouble, Yukimura.” Fubuki said confidently, and Nastume chuckled.

“Great! Oh, and please, call me Natsume. It’ll just get confusing if you call both of us Yukimura.” When Fubuki nodded, Natsume continued to speak. “So, where do I need to go? Back to town, or towards school?”

“Oh, uh, back to town, please.”

“You got it.” Natsume gave him a small salute before turning the car around and heading back to town.

“So what were you doing at Northern Ridge?” Natsume asked, and Fubuki’s smile turned a bit sad.

“Just… visiting." He said softly, and Yoru’s heart tightened painfully. Fubuki had never looked so sad before. Natsume glanced back at Fubuki from the rear-view mirror.

He let the topic drop.

Yoru got conversation started up again fast enough, and he and Fubuki filled the car with chatter, Natsume occasionally adding something to the conversation while Fubuki gave directions.

When Fubuki told them they were there, Yoru’s heart sunk even further when he saw they were in front of the town’s orphanage.

“Thank you for the ride.” Fubuki said, starting to unbuckle his seat belt, and Yoru quickly made eye contact with his brother in the rearview mirror. They couldn’t let Fubuki stay at the orphanage- it didn’t feel right.

“Hang on, kiddo.” Natsume said, making Fubuki pause and look at Natsume in confusion. “Do they have a curfew, or… rules involving where you can sleep at night?”

“We have to let them know if we won’t be coming back for the night… why?” Fubuki asked slowly, and Natsume bit his lip before turning around in his seat to look at Fubuki.

“Would you like to spend the night with us? Staying at an orphanage all the time must not be a lot of fun, and, well, you’re Yoru’s friend.”

Fubuki stared at him, stunned, and Yoru scratched his cheek shyly. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But I mean… it could be pretty fun, right?” He asked softly, and Fubuki looked at him for a moment before he grinned.

“That’d be great, thank you.”

Natsume and Yoru both grinned at that. “Awesome!”

Fubuki’s smile grew and he nodded. “I’ll go let them know I won’t stay the night.”

He got out and ran to the door, peeking his head in. Someone must have been right there, because he was coming back a few moments later and getting into the car again, a grin still on his face. It made Natsume and Yoru smile as well.

“Alright! Let’s head back home, boys!”

When they got to the house, Fubuki exited the car a little nervously, and Yoru guessed nerves were finally getting to him.

“Hey, don’t worry.” He said softly, lightly bumping his hip with Fubuki’s. “The rest of the family is going to love you.”

Fubuki laughed nervously, but he followed Natsume and Yoru closely. The moment the door opened a toddler’s screech could be heard. “Mommy! Daddy and Unca Yo-woo are back!”

“Unca Yo-woo?” Fubuki asked, and Yoru blushed, laughing.

“Natsume’s son is still figuring out how to pronounce Uncle Yoru, among other things.”

“It’s cute.” Fubuki chuckled, and Yoru nodded in agreement as a woman with medium-length blue hair and a toddler in her arms came over, kissing Natsume on the cheek.

“Welcome home you two.” She said softly, and Natsume grinned.

“Haruka, my love, meet the legendary Fubuki Shirou.” He said, placing a hand on her lower back and motioning to Fubuki, who blushed lightly and waved. Haruka gasped, eyes lighting up.

“Oh, he’s so cute!” She cooed, before holding out a hand and shaking Fubuki’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Fubuki. Hyouga, can you tell our guest hi?”

“Hi!” The toddler, Hyouga, said loudly, grinning at Fubuki. “I’m tee!”

“Three, sweetie.”

“Tee!”

Fubuki chuckled, smiling at Hyouga. “Really? You must be growing pretty fast!”

Hyouga nodded, a serious expression on his face. Haruka laughed, shifting him around in her arms. “Well Fubuki, I take it you are staying the night?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Haruka nodded, humming softly. “I’ll get Natsume to set up the extra bed.”

Natsume let out a despaired whine, and Haruka gave him a pointed look. He pouted, but when he looked at Fubuki he smiled. “Yeah, I’ve got it. You and Yoru can go practice out back, if you’d like.”

“Sure thing.” Yoru motioned once more for Fubuki to follow him, and they went outside to the back of the house. The back area of the house was lined by a fence, creating a barrier from the forest that surrounded the two-story home, and a goal was set up off to the side along with some other training equipment. Yoru went over to a small wooden box with a plastic lid and, after a sharp tug, opened it, pulling out a soccer ball.

“Let’s see your shoots, Fubuki. They seemed a bit off today.”

“Alright.” Fubuki caught the ball when Yoru tossed it over, and he dropped it by his feet before adjusting his scarf and changing into the more aggressive Fubuki Yoru had become used to seeing.

About halfway through practice, Hyouga came outside and Yoru pulled him onto his lap. He chuckled at his nephew’s awed expression, and he knew Hyouga was smitten.

The rest of the night had gone smoothly, although Fubuki had a little shadow clinging to him until they crashed.

“I hope he didn’t bother you.” Yoru said when Haruka carried a sleeping Hyouga to his bedroom. Fubuki smiled, shaking his head.

“I don’t mind. It’s kind of nice, actually.”

Yoru laughed, nodding. “He’s a cute kid. Loves soccer. You’re the best player he’s ever seen.” He stood up, stretching as he did. “Well, let’s see if I have anything that’ll fit you, then you can take a shower and get ready for the night, if you want.”

“Sounds good to me.” Fubuki said with a small chuckle, and they headed to Yoru’s room.

As he dug through the drawer filled with clothes he kept specifically for possible guests, he tried to think of any more topics to talk about. “So…. How long did it take you to learn those Hissatsu techniques of yours?”

“A while.” Fubuki hummed, looking around Yoru’s room curiously. His room was decorated rather simply, his bookcase filled with all kinds of stories and manga while his desk overflowed with school work and personal projects for his mom when she had to act as his therapist instead of mother. His bed covers were printed with a pack of wolves in the snow, moon shining high above them, and another mattress was situated neatly beside his bed, two pillows resting at one end and an absurdly large pile of blankets resting on top.

His walls had all sorts of nature photos and posters along the walls, along with a signed poster of his old teammates from Oumihara. “You know, this poster is giving me an idea.” Fubuki said, and Yoru looked over his shoulder at the boy.

“Yeah?”

“We should take a team picture, and when the third years leave, give each of them a signed poster from the rest of us as like, a momento.”

Yoru hummed softly in thought before smiling. “That’d be pretty cool, actually. I really like that idea.”

Fubuki smiled happily, glad he liked the idea, and Yoru’s heart _totally_ didn’t skip a beat, nope, not at all.

Before either could say anything else, a light pattering of rain began on Yoru’s window. Yoru hummed, looking at the window with an almost bored expression on his face. “Well, tomorrow’s going to be icy.” He commented, already going back to trying to find a good pair of clothes for Fubuki to wear.

He honestly had all types of sizes of clothing in this drawer, having bought an assortment of sizes for some of his friends back in Okinawa. He just had to find a pair that was closer to his own size out of this mass of bigger sizes.

“Ah, that’ll be fun to practice on.” Fubuki said with a laugh, although his eyes conveyed nervousness as thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

“Yeah, I guess it will.” Yoru hummed, pulling out a shirt and pants. “Here, see if these fit before you head to the bath.” He said lightly tossing them over to Fubuki, who caught them with ease. Fubuki nodded and quickly tried on the clothes.

“They fit.” He said simply, quickly taking them off and getting dressed in his own clothes again. Yoru grinned, closing the drawer he had been rifling through and standing up again.

“Great! There should already be a towel in there for you, and you can use any of the products in there, no one really cares who uses what.”

“Got it.” Fubuki smiled and left Yoru’s room, leaving Yoru all by his lonesome. Yoru sighed, frowning at the window as the rain started to fall harder.

After Fubuki came back, hair mostly dry and dressed in clothes that actually fit him _better_ than Yoru, Yoru went and took his own shower and got dressed. He roughly dried his hair until it stopped dripping before heading back to his room as another rumble of thunder echoed outside. It was closer than the past few have been, but it seemed it was still far away.

He went to his room and frowned when he saw that Fubuki seemed a bit more nervous now as he sat on the edge of the bed on the floor, another rumble of thunder as it drew closer causing the boy to subtly flinch. Was he scared?

A sudden, extremely loud clap caused both boys to jump, and Fubuki curled tightly in on himself, shaking violently.

Okay, he was definitely scared. Yoru realized quickly, and he felt something twist uncomfortably in his chest. “Fubuki?” He said softly, closing the door to his room behind him before walking over to his friend and sitting next to him. “You okay?”

Fubuki let out a small gasp, as if he hadn’t realized Yoru was back and talking to him until now, and lifted his head, smiling weakly at him. “Ah, sorry, I…”

“Don’t be sorry.” Yoru said firmly, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. “Everyone’s scared of something.” Fubuki just sort of looked at him sadly, then, and Yoru smiled kindly.

“Seriously. I’m scared of seeing broken bones or even just the _mention_ of a possible break. For a while, I had a weird mix of ‘I really want to play soccer’ and ‘keep me as far away from the field as possible’ going on. You’re scared of… thunder?” He suggested, not entirely sure if thunder was what he was scared of. He was pretty sure he’d seen him act like this around the sound of an avalanche, too…

Fubuki was quiet for a few minutes, obviously debating whether or not he should tell. “I’m… scared of avalanches.” He admitted, flinching at another clap of thunder. “… and everything that sounds like one.” He continued, biting his lip. “I, uh, I was caught in one once… with the rest of my family.”

“Ah.” Yoru said sympathetically, giving him a kind smile. “The thing that happened 5 or so years ago, at Northern Ridge?” Fubuki nodded slowly, looking down.

“I was pushed out of the car by Atsuya, but…”

“Atsuya?” Yoru asked, not wanting Fubuki to talk about the event if he didn’t want to.

Fubuki nodded, smiling a little. “Atsuya’s my younger brother. He was rowdy, loud, and a little bit of a punk, but I love him all the same.”

“You talk as if he’s still right here with you.” Yoru said softly, and Fubuki laughed nervously.

“Well, about that…”

So Fubuki began explaining what happened after the avalanche, how he had felt so alone and how one day Atsuya spoke to him. How he had felt power surge through him and how it felt nice to surrender to it. Yoru listened, calm and quiet and thoughtful through the entire thing. When Fubuki was done talking, the room was quiet for a few minutes before Yoru let out a small sigh followed by a chuckle.

“That… actually explains a lot.” He admitted softly. “I’ve noticed him on more than one occasion… wasn’t really sure how to breach the topic.”

Fubuki looked at him in surprise. “You don’t think it’s weird?”

Yoru shook his head, smiling. “Why should I? You’re happy, aren’t you? That’s all that should matter.”

Fubuki stared for a moment, shocked, and Yoru simply continued to smile. “Atsuya is a part of you now.” He said softly, “Which means I accept him just as I accept you.”

Fubuki’s shocked expression finally turned into a smile that made the uncomfortable feeling in Yoru’s chest go away, and it only make Yoru’s smile grow brighter.

“Thank you.” Fubuki said softly, the words light and filled with meaning.

Yoru laughed softly, shaking his head. “You never need to thank me for this. It’s only natural.” He stood up again, looking down at Fubuki and motioning to the pile of blankets behind him. “Now come on, let’s finish making the bed. How many blankets are you going to need?”

Fubuki’s smile didn’t fade as he let out a happy laugh while standing, and the two of them fell into a comfortably silence, listening to the rain and occasional quiet roll of thunder. Fubuki still flinched or tensed, but the air in the room never lost its light quality as they gave Fubuki’s bed enough blankets for the night and put away the extras.

“Would you like to meet him? Officially, I mean.” Fubuki asked after a while, looking over to Yoru. “He doesn’t just come out during games and practice.”

Yoru hummed, looking at Fubuki thoughtfully before smiling.

“You bet.” He said softly, and Fubuki smiled before adjusting his scarf. Yoru watched as Fubuki became Atsuya, and he smiled at the golden-eyed version of his friend. “Hello.”

“Uh…. Hi?” Atsuya said, looking very confused. “What’s going on, exactly?”

“Well, Fubuki thought it would be nice for us to have a formal introduction, Atsuya.” Yoru said with a small laugh, before holding out his hand. “Yukimura Yoru, teammate and athletic trainer and/or coach in-training.”

Atsuya blinked, looking from his outstretched hand to Yoru’s face with the largest amount of confusion Yoru had ever seen on either Fubuki’s face. “…Fubuki Atsuya.” The boy said, taking Yoru’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “I’m still really confused.”

Yoru laughed, patting Atsuya on the shoulder. “I can tell. This _is_ a little strange, I suppose.”

“Have you always been able to see me?” Atsuya asked, and Yoru nodded. Atsuya hummed then, still looking rather confused as he thought about this but also starting to look a little hopeful. “You… You don’t think Shiro is weird because of me?”

“Why would I? You’re very different off the field, you know.”

Atsuya stared at Yoru like he had two heads. “….You’re different.” He said eventually, expression finally becoming the easy going smirk Yoru was used to seeing on Atsuya’s face. “I like that.”

\--------

After that day, all three boys managed to grow closer. Atsuya had far less walls up around Yoru and would listen to him- something that shocked everyone on the soccer team the first time it happened. Atsuya got along far better with Fubuki than before, as well. It was a lot less give and take between the brothers now, and more about working together.

Somehow- Yoru’s not entirely sure what happened- the three of them became Hokkaido’s legends.

Yoru became known as Hakuren’s Northern Star, thanks to the Fubuki brothers calling him that in one of the matches they had a few weeks after he met Atsuya, while Fubuki was given rumor after rumor of how strong he was. Yoru jokingly nicknamed the brothers as the “Princes of the Snowfield”, but it hadn’t really stuck in the public eye. It became more of a personal nickname, and they fired them off at each other rather often.

The last thing the trio had expected, however, was creating a Hissatsu technique between the three of them.

“Fubuki!”

“Right!” Fubuki dashed forward, stealing the ball as it was being passed between players. Yoru watched and waited carefully, keeping an eye on number 14. They were big, mean, and didn’t play fair. Most of this team didn’t, actually. It was a disgrace to soccer.

The fact he hurt Kitami wasn’t any better.

“Iya, Sorano!” The two midfielders nodded, swerving around the opposing team members as Fubuki passed Iya the ball. Iya carefully swerved around the other players, and Yoru darted forward when it seemed everyone on the other team wasn’t paying attention. Iya passed him the ball and Yoru kicked it into the air immediately as the sky darkened and a brilliant rainbow of lights formed above the field.

He jumped into the air after it and kicked the ball even higher, watching the colors in the sky bathe and wrap around it before building in power. He used a burst of air underneath his foot to propel him higher, twisting around to angle his kick properly. “Auror Boreal!” He shouted, kicking the ball and watching the colors explode and follow the ball in a tail as it went for the goal.

It burst through the goal keeper’s defenses, and Yoru landed as lightly as possible on his feet. It still caused him to wince a little bit, but he made sure to hide it from the opposing team. He smirked at the goalkeeper, who gave him a nervous smile in return. So he was one of the good ones.

The goalkeeper tossed the ball back into play, and Yoru stayed back a tiny bit as Atsuya went after it. He called out to the others as they worked to give Atsuya the ball, trying to keep anyone else from getting hurt.

He let out a frustrated groan under his breath as the ball was stolen, and he went with the others to try and get the ball back. “Fubuki!” Yoru called, and Atsuya let Shiro take control again.

Fubuki nodded and quickly used Ice Ground, freezing the forward and starting to slide along the ice path his hissatsu technique created as he went for the ball. He switched back to Atsuya, rushing forward and using Eternal Blizzard to score another goal. Yoru smiled while the first years in the team cheered, excited to have finally gotten another point and officially getting the upper hand.

The opposing team almost all let out angry growls now that the second half was nearing its end, and they began to play rough. They shoved Hakuren’s members out of their way and aimed to hurt them like hungry predators nipping at their prey’s heels.

They especially targeted Fubuki and Yoru.

The problem with that, however, was that they were in fact dealing with Fubuki and Yoru.

Ever since the rule that he couldn’t play soccer, unless it was an emergency, Yoru had been working on dodging things like slides and tackles. He didn’t want his bad leg to give out on him or for the tendons in his leg to tear again. So whenever someone went after him, he dodged them all almost flawlessly. He still hadn’t perfected the moves, but he was fast and sharp enough to be able to dodge the movements easily.

He quickly passed the ball to Iya before jumping to avoid the sliding tackle coming his way from player 14, looking over his shoulder at the hulk of a boy as he growled and glared.

The ball and teams went back and forth like that for a while, neither team able to score another point. Time was running out, and the opposing team was starting to get dangerous. Too many of the bad players were determined to attack, and it was starting to overwhelm Hakuren. Yoru was calling out to the others every time they were cornered, but even he was starting to have trouble keeping up as he was one of the main targets of the team.

He hissed in frustration as the opposing team got the ball again, following them as Fubuki darted past and towards Hakuren’s defense. He got himself between the goal and the shooter, determination in his eyes as he started to use Ice Ground. Yoru smiled, but quickly disappeared as number 14 smirked and started going towards Fubuki, who was currently freezing the shooter and creating a path through the players towards the goal.

“Fubuki, look out!” Yoru darted forward as Fubuki’s concentration on the ball broke as he avoided getting tackled by 14, the ball still in the air as Fubuki’s winds let it drop instead of bringing it over to Fubuki.

Yoru jumped onto the ice Fubuki had created and caught the ball, using his own winds to pick up speed and leave the opposing players shivering from the chill. His eyes widened as dark fog began to spark to life beneath his feet, but he couldn’t focus on it for too long as the ice was quickly running out. He gasped in surprise, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Atsuya had run forward as well. “Fubuki!”

He quickly passed Atsuya the ball, inhaling sharply as his feet slipped out from under him. He caught himself and flipped over so his cleats were digging into the ice, slowing down enough he could safely stand up and watch as Atsuya shot a darker than normal soccer ball into the goal.

The final whistle blew, and Atsuya caught Yoru’s gaze. They stared at each other with wide eyes. Was that the start of a hissatsu technique?

After that, the three of them worked harder than ever to complete and create the hissatsu technique they had felt forming during that match.

When they completed it, no one had expected the outcome it had.

The hissatsu was fast and deadly. A frozen path created by Shiro that guided Yoru’s way to the goal, hurricane winds freezing any who got in its way and screaming louder than even Yoru’s Grimm Reaper hissatsu as the fog and winds surrounded the boy as he gathered power into the ball before kicking it into the air, where Atsuya added even more power with Eternal Blizzard after using his own speed to get to the goal, and kicked it in. The reaper from Yoru’s hissatsu would let out another bone chilling scream and freeze the goalie in a block of ice, letting the ball enter the goal with ease.

Fast, deadly, and oh so chilling.

It was only fitting that they name it Avalanche.

\----

Days went on like normal after that. Yoru fell into an easy routine with his friends at Hakuren, one that made him feel much more normal than he had since his accident, even on his very bad days. Fubuki became a constant presence by his side; on the pitch, at home, in class. They had become inseparable, almost.

Being as close as they were, it was only about a month before the start of their final year of junior high when Yoru realized it.

He didn’t know when, and he didn’t know how, but he had fallen in love with the Princes of the Snowfield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Magic” exists in this universe, which is what gives the soccer players their Hissatsu Techniques and makes the legend of Licott Island, well, not a legend.  
> Yoru’s magic is wind and (in my personal opinion because this isn’t a real category in the Inazuma Eleven universe) darkness based, but there is ancient magic in his family that causes him to be able to sharpen his eyesight to the point he could see a person's very psyche.  
> Fubuki is aged up a few months so he is in 3rd year with Yoru and Tsunami. Everyone else is the same- 2nd and 1st years for AA, 3rd and 2nd years after FFI (I’d imagine)
> 
>  
> 
> [](https://ibb.co/cwrCLm)  
>    
> 


	2. Chapter 1: Hakuren Meets Raimon

“Fubuki! Pass it to Kitami!”

“Right!” Atsuya nearly growled, voice rough as he passed to Kitami, who caught up to it with ease. Yoru smiled to himself, nodding a bit from where he stood off to the side, doing his best to ignore the twinge of pain in his leg from the cold seeping into his skin.

“Good receive, Kitami! Keep up that speed to the best of your abilities. If you can’t do it long enough, we can work on your endurance later. Araya, tighten up that defense, please!”

“Okay!” Araya called, and as Kitami came towards her she did her best not to easily fall back, although Kitami still managed to get around her. She let out a distressed sound, and Yoru chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Araya! We can work on it!”

“Right…”

“Aurora Curtain!” Hakoda said loudly, and Yoru watched, pleased, as Hakoda used his newly created catch hissatsu technique. It reminded Yoru of one of his techniques, and it always surprised him when he saw it. He smiled as Hakoda caught the ball with ease, clapping.

“Good job, Hakoda!”

Coach Takayama blew the final whistle, which also signaled the end of practice for the day. Fubuki took a deep breath as he turned back into “Shiro”, hair falling from its spikes and eyes returning to that almost sleepy look. Yoru smiled at the soccer team- consisting mostly of first years, this year- and nodded to them.

“Great practice, guys! You’re all doing wonderfully, and are steadily getting better! Now go head home for the night, alright? Tomorrow’s another day and you need rest if you want to get better!”

Fubuki and Coach Takayama gave their own parting words and the team split up as they headed for the locker rooms, leaving the three of them alone on the field. Yoru smiled knowingly at Fubuki. “Not going home just yet, huh?”

Fubuki laughed lightly and shook his head before Coach Takayama cleared his throat. “Yukimura, I must say… You’re getting better and better over bringing out the best you can in our team in the year you’ve been going to our school.” He said softly, and Yoru could not help but blush as even Fubuki joined in with a small nudge to his side.

“He _is_ our Northern Star, coach.” Fubuki teased, and Coach Takayama laughed heartily.

“Yes, he is.”

“Well Fubuki’s the Prince of the Snowfield.” Yoru mumbled in embarrassment, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to curl into himself. He smirked slightly as Fubuki spluttered and turned a vibrant red, and Takayama laughed even louder before coughing into a gloved hand.

“Alright, boys, you get on your way home now, too. It’s getting late and as you know the nights are starting to get freezing cold again!” He shooed the teens away, and they headed back into the locker room to grab their things.

“I still can’t believe you managed to give me that nickname and make it stick.” Fubuki mumbled as they made their way up the steps. Yoru laughed happily, grinning at his friend.

“Hey, considering how you were the first one to call me Hakuren’s Northern Star- which has become my official freaking title since you _said it during a match_ , I think it’s fair I gave you a nickname just as embarrassing.”

“But you _are_ like the Northern star!” Fubuki said confidently. “You help us move forwards and help our plays when the team doesn’t know how to solve the problem, just like the North Star helps point travelers or those who are lost in the right direction!” He ducked his head again, pouting a bit. “’Prince of the Snowfield’ is just… unnecessary and embarrassing.”

Yoru laughed, patting his shoulder lightly as they went inside the school again. “You and Atsuya are the Princes of the Snowfield, though! You dominate the field and are so good at so many things- plus, considering how you are the ace striker _and_ ace defender, you’re kind of like soccer royalty!”

Fubuki laughed shyly, smiling at Yoru. “You really think so?”

Yoru grinned, nodding. “I know so! You and Atsuya are the perfect duo.”

Fubuki shook his head. “I’m not perfect.” He said softly, and Yoru was suddenly reminded of Fubuki’s obsession with being perfect. His smile softened as he looked at his friend.

“Well, Fubuki… You’re perfect just the way you are, to me and the team, at least.”

Fubuki smiled kindly at Yoru. “Thank you, Yukimura.”

Yoru chuckled, grinning at Fubuki. “Anytime! Now then are you staying the night with us again, or…?”

“I’ll stay the night, if you’re alright with it.”

“Of course we are, dude!” Yoru bumped his hip with Fubuki’s as they grabbed their bags. “We’ll always be alright with it. Your home is our home, and always will be.” He paused for a moment before laughing. “Besides, little Hyouga has taken a shine to you!”

\-----

The next day, as Natsume drove Yoru and Fubuki to school, Fubuki asked if he could be dropped off at Northern Ridge, instead.

“Huh?” Natsume looked at Fubuki from the rearview mirror, raising an eyebrow. “Are you sure, Fubuki? I mean, you have school, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you there alone...”

“It’s alright, I’ll be fine.”

Natsume glanced at him again before sighing. “Alright, bear-killer. I’ll let you go. Be sure to get back to school before it storms though, alright?”

“Okay.” Fubuki smiled, and Natsume nodded before driving to Northern Ridge. They dropped Fubuki off and Yoru smiled at him.

“Hey, I’ll see you at practice, yeah?”

“Yep!”

“Stay safe!” Yoru called out the window as Natsume drove back to Hakuren Junior High, and Fubuki waved back.

\----

Yoru paced the room nervously, gnawing lightly on his fingernail. It had finished storming an hour ago and Fubuki still wasn’t back- the school day was already half over.

“He’ll be okay, Yukimura…. He’ll be back soon, I’m sure!” Araya said confidently, and Yoru gave her a nervous smile.

“I know…” Yoru sighed, running a hand nervously through his hair. “I know, but I mean… Natsume and I dropped him off this morning before school! What if- what if he got caught in an avalanche, or he’s freezing to death, or-“

“Whoa, calm down.” Oyshia said, stepping forward and holding his hands up in front of Yoru. “I get where you are coming from, but he’s still our Fubuki. He’s probably on his way back, now.”

The rest of the team gave varying sounds of agreement, and Yoru sighed before smiling at them. “Yeah…. Yeah, you’re probably right.” He said softly, running his hands through his hair. “Sorry, I just… I worry, you know?”

The girls on the team giggled, and all together the team chorused, “We know!”

Yoru blushed darkly, looking away in embarrassment. The sound of a car caught his attention and he looked out the window, gasping in surprise at what he saw. “Oh my god.” He murmured, taking in the blue and yellow caravan and the soccer ball logo on the side, along with what must surely be “Inazuma” next to it.

“Is- Is that Raimon’s bus?!” Matoro asked, looking out the window as well, and that caused the rest of the team to look through the windows as well, awed sounds leaving the first years as the team left the bus.

“What do you think they want?” Yukino asked, and Yoru shrugged before biting his lip. Was it possible they had seen Fubuki on their way to the school?

He didn’t have much time to wonder about it though, before the team came into the room.

“Amazing! It’s the real Raimon team!” Araya cheered, and Iya quickly joined in.

“The number one team in Japan is here!” He said excitedly, and Yoru couldn’t help but chuckle quietly at their excitement. “Will you give me your autograph?”

“Ah! It’s the Megane I’ve heard all about! Shake hands! Shake hands!” Yukino said as Araya bounced excitedly beside him, the boy known as Megane staring forlornly at the hand Yukino held out.

“Welcome to Hakuren Junior High, Endou.” Sorano said, shaking the captain’s hand.

“Wow, you all know us!” Endou said excitedly, as even his team expressed some of their awe at already being known.

“Yes, well, our team does hope to one day play in the Football Frontier.” Yoru said softly, “We’re still working on getting better, though.”

“Do you know where Fubuki Shirou and Yukimura Yoru are?” The woman who must be their coach asked, and Yoru felt his heart drop.

“You haven’t seen him?” He mumbled to himself, as the rest of Hakuren guessed where Fubuki probably was.

“Skiing, ice-skating, and bobsledding… and he’s a bear-killer?” Kazemaru questioned, and Yoru laughed while Endou’s excitement only seemed to grow.

“He can do all those sports? What an awesome guy!”

“So, where’s Yukimura Yoru?” Kidou asked, and Yoru raised his hand.

“That’s me, actually. But what do you need me for?”

Rustling and footsteps came from out in the hall, and Yoru gasped, leaving the group to go to the door. He peeked outside and he sighed in relief at seeing Fubuki. “Fubuki!” He ran out and gave him a quick hug. “You scared me! What happened to ‘I’ll be coming back to school before the storm’, huh?”

Fubuki laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, I lost track of time and got stuck for a bit.” He said softly, and Yoru sighed, hugging Fubuki again.

“Just try not to do it again, please.” He said softly, smiling at Fubuki before motioning back towards the room. “Anyway, we’ve got guests!”

“Guests?” Fubuki asked, and when they entered the room again, Raimon let out shouts of surprise.“Oh? It’s you guys!” Fubuki said cheerfully, before looking at Yoru. “They helped me get back here during the storm.”

“Why didn’t you just come with them?” Yoru asked, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Fubuki a questioning look. Fubuki laughed weakly, smiling sheepishly at Yoru.

“You’re from earlier!” Endou said, catching Fubuki and Yoru’s attention again, “Fubuki Shirou… was you?”

“You’re the bear-killer?!” A mean looking boy who had been leaning against the chalkboard- Someoka, Yoru reminded himself- snapped, and Fubuki rubbed the back of his head, smiling.

“Oh, are you disappointed after seeing the real thing? Everyone who hears about those rumors assumes I’m a big guy or something…” He lowered his hand, holding the other out to Someoka for a handshake. “This is the real Fubuki Shirou. Nice to meet you.”

Someoka stared, dumbfounded for a moment before he huffed and left the room, one of the girls from Raimon chasing after him.

“Well he’s a happy fellow.” Yoru scoffed quietly, earning a small elbow to the stomach as Fubuki looked to Endou.

“Huh? Did I upset him?” He asked, and Endou bowed, apologizing for Someoka. “Don’t worry about it.” Fubuki assured, smiling at Endou.

“Fubuki, Yukimura.” Yoru and Fubuki looked at the coach. “Could you give me some of your time?”

“Sure, um…”

“I’m Kira Hitomiko, Raimon Junior High Soccer club’s coach.”

“Again, why do you need me, exactly?” Yoru mumbled, but he went to listen to her along with Fubuki. They made their way down the steps to the soccer field, and Yoru smiled as Fubuki caught one of the girls as she slipped. “Good thing you weren’t hurt.” He commented, leaning over Fubuki’s shoulder slightly. “These steps take some time getting used to without slipping on them at least once.”

“Yukimura slipped and fell constantly, and he stuck close to the railing.” Fubuki teased, making Yoru blush.

“Fubuki!”

Fubuki laughed, but it was quickly cut off as the sound of snow starting to fall from somewhere filled the air. Yoru’s heart constricted painfully as Fubuki almost immediately crouched, wrapping his arms around himself and trembling in fear.

The avalanche quickly finished, and Yoru knelt next to him along with Araya. “Hey, it’s okay.” Yoru said softly, rubbing Fubuki’s back gently as Araya explained it was just some snow falling from the roof.

Fubuki looked at Araya before looking up at the school. “A-A roof?” He saw where the snow had come from, and he relaxed exponentially. “Oh. Snow from a roof.” Fubuki smiled slightly, and Endou asked if everything was alright.

“We’re good, Endou!” Yoru said quickly, standing up again carefully.

“To be so shaken up about something like this, you’re more timid than I thought.” The girl with long brown hair said, and Fubuki laughed awkwardly, trying to play it off like it was nothing. Yoru stuck close to Fubuki as they continued down the steps.

When they got to the field, most of the kids started a snowball fight while Fubuki, Yoru, Araya, Coach Hitomiko and a few others from Raimon went into the igloo to talk, starting a fire in the fire pit and toasting some treats for a snack.

“We’re looking for comrades to fight against Aliea Academy.” Hitomiko began, and Otonashi gave Fubuki her laptop, showing them pictures of destroyed junior highs. Yoru frowned, looking up at Hitomiko as she continued to explain while Fubuki handed Otonashi her laptop back. “Several days ago, Aliea Academy destroyed several junior highs here in Hokkaido.”

“But we’re safe.” Fubuki explained, setting more marshmallow squares on the grate as he messed with the ones already toasted and on the plate. “They won’t come after us.”

“Hakuren’s team is weak, and they only recently just truly started playing as a soccer club.” Yoru continued.

“It’s not a problem just for Hakuren. We can’t let Aliea Academy continue doing as they please.” Hitomiko said, and Yoru nodded. She had a point. Destroying schools just because they couldn’t beat them in a soccer game? That was wrong on way to many levels.

“We’re trying to create the strongest soccer team on Earth to defeat them.”

“That’s great, and I’m sure Fubuki would love to help,” Yoru began with a sigh. “But again, why do you need me, too?”

“You were one of Oumihara’s best-“

“See, there’s the key word.” Yoru interrupted with a heavy sigh. “I _was_ one of their best. I can’t play anymore. Not enough to actually make a difference.”

“You can still help train the team, Yukimura!” Fubuki said happily. “You can do what you do for Hakuren, and be Raimon’s North Star.”

Yoru pouted at Fubuki, who gave a sly smile when the others weren’t focused on him, and groaned, leaning his head back against the wall of the igloo. “If that’s why you want me, then I suppose I have a purpose to help.” He said softly. “Although to be fair, I would have asked to go anyway- I go where the Prince of the Snowfield goes, after all.”

He returned the sly smile as Fubuki fumbled his next words in embarrassment, Araya giggling beside them while the Raimon team just looked confused.

‘I need to keep Atsuya in check.’ Yoru thought, stealing another glance at Fubuki as he vocalized his own agreement to join Raimon’s team. ‘These kids… They don’t know Fubuki’s story like we at Hakuren do. They don’t know about Atsuya, and I can’t let Fubuki lose himself because of it.’

“Will you show us your playing?” Hitomiko asked, and Fubuki nodded as he gave Endou one of the toasted snacks, this one shaped into a soccer ball.

“That’s fine with me.” Fubuki said confidently, and after everyone had a snack and had a break after playing in the snow, they made their way to the field.

Yoru started bouncing his leg again, trying to keep the cold from getting to his leg after sitting against snow for so long, and watched as the team started getting into position after Fubuki gave his usual pep talk at the start. He wandered over to the Raimon managers and Coach, excited to see their reactions to Fubuki’s playing.

Yoru chuckled as Raimon expressed their surprise at Fubuki also being a defender, and he watched happily as his team played their hearts out. When Someoka broke through Araya and Hyoujou, he smiled and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Nice try, Araya, Hyoujou!” He cheered, giving them a thumbs up and wiping away the sad looks on their faces. As Someoka drew closer to Fubuki he glided forward, jumping and spinning gracefully before landing again, ice cold air wrapping around him and encasing Someoka in ice before bringing the ball over to Fubuki. Yoru’s smile only grew as he watched, always awed by how graceful Fubuki was when he went to use his hissatsu techniques.

“Fubuki isn’t just a good forward.” He said softly. “He’s amazing at defending. He has a natural eye for timing blocks and steals.” Yoru explained, watching as Fubuki stopped Dragon Crash with no trouble at all. “He’s the Prince of the Snowfield for a reason.”

He watched as Someoka went for the ball, eyes being drawn to Fubuki as he watched him adjust his scarf. Atsuya’s turn had finally come. He watched as Atsuya came out, looking at the expressions of the Raimon team to see if any of them noticed the physical changes. None of them did.

Yoru sighed softly, before looking at Atsuya. “Fubuki!” He called, drawing Atsuya’s attention. He grinned as their eyes locked, giving him a small nod. “Don’t hurt anyone, got it? Blow ‘em away!”

Atsuya gasped softly, eyes widening for a moment before he grinned in excitement, turning to his team again. “Just watch! I’ll get loads of points, just like always!” He said confidently, and everyone on the team knew it, too. Especially now that Yoru had given him the okay to charge ahead by himself.

Atsuya did just that, charging ahead and making it to the goal in no time. He shot Eternal Blizzard, and Yoru watched with a mix of pride and satisfaction as it froze through Endou’s God Hand and made it into the goal.

“That’s our Fubuki.” He said softly. “As powerful and graceful as ever.”

“End the match!” Hitomiko said, voice ringing out over the field. Someoka didn’t listen though, kicking the ball towards Atsuya, who then kicked it into the air before they both caught the ball between their feet. Atsuya knocked Someoka back, and Yoru stepped forward.

“Fubuki! You’ve shown them what you can do now stand down!”

“Eh? He’s the one who came after me!” Atsuya growled, and Yoru only gave him a pointed look.

“Don’t be a child about it like he is!”

Atsuya glared, a growl building up in his throat, and Yoru sighed. “Alright, fine. One last shot- you got that?”

Atsuya grinned, nodding and going straight for the kill. He used Eternal Blizzard, breaking through Raimon’s defenses with ease. Endou’s Majin the Hand sent it over the goalpost, which impressed Yoru. It was certainly one of the first times anyone had managed to redirect Eternal Blizzard, even if it took three people.

Yoru clapped for them as Hitomiko finally walked forward and ended the match, walking forward as well. He went to Fubuki and before Atsuya could change back into Shiro, he flicked his forehead. “I may have said to go all out, but when someone says to end the match, you _end the match_ , got it?” Atsuya rubbed where Yoru had flicked, frowning at him before sighing.

“Yeah, I get it.” He grumbled, and Yoru smiled.

“Good.” He patted Fubuki’s shoulder as he turned back to Shiro, taking a deep breath again right before Endou came running up.

“You’re amazing, Fubuki! That freezing shoot really impressed me!” He cheered, making Fubuki smile and Yoru chuckle.

“Me too. You’re the first guys to be able to do anything about my shoots.”

“Fubuki, I want to play soccer with you!”

“And you will.” Yoru said softly, draping an arm over Fubuki’s shoulders as Hakuren’s Prince agreed.

“With you guys, I really feel like I can play soccer to my full extent.” Fubuki explained, and Endou’s grin only widened.

“Fubuki, Yukimura, I’ll make the preparations so that you can officially join the Inazuma caravan.” Hitomiko said with a smile. “It’s the birth of Raimon’s new striker!”

“Good to be with you.” Fubuki said cheerfully, and Yoru grinned, giving a small wave to the group. He could see Someoka was angry, and he mentally sighed. It would take a while for him to warm up to Fubuki, it seemed. Someoka ran off and Endou followed him, leaving the group in stunned silence.

Yoru let it settle for a moment before he grinned and started ruffling Fubuki’s hair. “You do good out there with them, you hear me?” He teased, and Fubuki laughed, ducking away from his touch.

“Let’s both do our best, Yukimura!” Fubuki said cheerful as he twisted away from Yoru’s hold, and Yoru grinned.

“Yeah!” He fist-pumped the air, excited and hopeful. This team was going to be great, he could feel it.

“Hey, Yukimura.” Kidou said, walking over to the two. “What exactly _can_ you do? Coach didn’t really give us any details, and what we found-“

“Yukimura is our command tower.” Fubuki explained with ease, smile never fading as he quickly deterred Kidou's words away from Your's accident. “He analyzes the opponents and whenever he can, he relays plays to us, usually during half-time. Sometimes he plays, too.”

“Are you still a forward?” Kidou asked, looking to Yoru, and the one in question shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess… I’m not very good at it anymore.”

“Can we see your shoots?”

Yoru bit his lip, unsure. Would it hurt if he showed them what he could do? He looked to Fubuki who shrugged and motioned towards the goal. “If you think your leg can handle it today, I don’t see why you shouldn’t.”

“That’s the thing, I don’t know if it can handle it…” Yoru mumbled, shifting his weight between feet carefully, judging his leg’s current durability.

“Your leg?” Kidou asked, and Yoru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“I injured it two years ago, and it never… really healed properly? I don’t remember all the technical stuff, but basically I can’t play soccer unless it’s absolutely necessary, and I have bad days where I can barely walk without pain shooting up my leg.”

“Seriously?” Zaizen gasped, coming over, and Yoru nodded.

“Yeah… Anyway, I think I can handle it today- if we wait I might end up having a bad day and won’t be able to show you.”

“If you’re sure.” Hitomiko said calmly, and Yoru nodded.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Hakoda! Do me a favor and go to the goal, please?” Hakuren’s goal keeper nodded, and he went back to his place at the goal while Fubuki handed Yoru the ball.

“Go easy on yourself, okay?” He asked softly, and Yoru smiled, laughing slightly.

“Coming from you, I supposed that’s a big thing.” He laughed again at Fubuki’s unimpressed look. “I promise, Fubuki.”

Fubuki nodded and the group stepped back while Yoru dribbled the ball up closer to the goal. He stretched, glancing towards the group when Endou and Someoka came back. ‘Well, at least they won’t miss this.’ He thought as he straightened.

Yoru closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and focusing on the air around him as well as the darkness he saw. He could feel the wind whipping around him and the darkness sharpened, brightening around him. He opened his eyes and grinned at Hakoda, the sky darkening as brilliant lights formed above them while Yoru kicked the ball into the air, jumping after it. He kicked the ball even higher, watching the colors in the sky bathe and wrap around it before building in power. He used a burst of air underneath his foot to propel him higher, twisting around to angle his kick properly. “Auror Boreal!” He shouted, kicking the ball and watching the colors explode and follow the ball in a tail as it went for the goal.

The ball broke through Hakoda’s defenses and made a goal, and Yoru stumbled as he landed on the ground again. His ankle protested the landing, making him wince and lightly rotate it to make sure it was alright.

“Is your leg okay?” Hakoda asked, holding the ball in his hands, and Yoru nodded.

“Yeah! I think I’ve got another in me before my leg gives out today! Auror Boreal wasn’t the smartest one to start with.” He admitted with a small laugh. Yoru caught the ball as Hakoda threw it, and he took another deep breath. “Alright… Time for Grimm Reaper.” He murmured to himself.

He dribbled the ball back a ways before he darted forward, moving into a slide as he used his foot to carry the ball up with him until he was in a handstand. Dark fog whipped around him like a hurricane as he spun around, and he watched as the ball grew darker and darker in color until it was pitch black. “Grimm…” He pushed off the ground and flipped, the ball floating in the air as he swung his leg around like a scythe. “Reaper!” He kicked the ball towards the goal, an otherworldly shriek coming from the phantasmal creature pushing the ball forward. Hakoda managed to redirect this one, and Yoru gingerly set his foot back down on the ground. He sighed in relief when all he felt was a mild ache, and he turned to face the group.

“How was that? I’ve got some group Hissatsu techniques, too, but obviously I can’t do those.” He laughed weakly as he started to walk back towards the group, but his bad leg buckled under him and he cursed as he went crashing towards the ground.

“Yukimura!” Fubuki and the rest of Hakuren shouted worriedly, but before they could go to help Yoru caught himself with his hands, swinging his feet up like he did for Grimm Reaper and using another gust of wind to soften his fall as he landed on his butt. His team ran over to him and he flushed in embarrassment.

“Oops. Guess I pushed it, huh?” He said nervously, laughing weakly as Fubuki helped him to his feet. His friend sighed, shaking his head.

“Seriously, Yukimura, you’re going to hurt yourself even more if you don’t pay closer attention to your leg.” Fubuki scolded, which only made Yukimura even more embarrassed.

“Are you okay?!” Endou asked, running over as Fubuki helped Yoru to one of the benches.

“I’m alright.” Yoru assured, pulling his leg up and lightly massaging along his scar. “My leg just protested doing too many hissatsu techniques in a row… Normally I can do a few more while playing, but you can see why I can’t play unless absolutely necessary.”

“It’s too bad, too. Your shoots were really cool!” Endou grinned, and Yoru let out another small laugh.

“I’ve always felt they were average.” Yoru admitted, “It was just surprising at Oumihara because I was a first year with second or third year power level shoots.”

“Your shoots are amazing, Yukimura.” Fubuki said honestly, “We keep telling you this and yet you never agree.”

“Because they really aren’t!” Yoru laughed now, shaking his head. “Especially not now that I have to be careful not to put too much power into the kick.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a sports injury like yours. What exactly happened?” Hitomiko asked, and Yoru paled. He didn’t want to go into detail, and he most definitely didn’t want to remember the actual extent of what happened.

“I shattered my ankle and broke my tibia. That’s all you need to know.” He said, voice cold and distant. “You want any more information, go look it up.” He stood up again, sighing heavily. “Anyway, I need to call Natsume now, so he can pick me up.” He mumbled, smiling at Fubuki. “I’ll meet you guys inside.”

“Do you want help getting back to the building?” Hyoujou asked, walking over and offering a hand. Yoru tested his weight with another step before shaking his head.

“Thank you, but I’m alright now.” Yoru smiled and waved, before slowly heading back to the steps to go into the building. He shuddered when he was far away from the group, still feeling Raimon Eleven’s eyes on his back.

When he got to the school he sat against the lockers in the locker room after grabbing his phone, dialing his brother’s phone number and tensing for the anger that would come if his brother was the one who answered.

“Hello? This is Yukimura Haruka speaking.”

Yoru sighed in relief, relaxing against the lockers. “Haruka? It’s Yoru.”

“Yoru!” Haruka gasped, and he smiled as he heard little Hyouga faintly on the other end of the conversation. “What are you calling for?”

“I, uh… I need someone to pick me up… I can’t walk home today.”

“What? Why?” Haruka’s voice grew worried, and the tense feeling in Yoru’s shoulders came back. “What happened, Yoru?”

“I, uh…” Yoru gulped, hoping Natsume wasn’t actually nearby listening in on the conversation. “I may have… overdone it with my leg. Again.”

Silence.

“….Yoru…” Yoru winced. Haruka had her mom voice down to an art form already, and he was already feeling pretty bad about the situation. “Natsume is going to be pissed when he finds out.”

“Can you… not tell him? Please?” Yoru begged, and Haruka sighed heavily.

“No! Yoru, we’ve been over this!” She shouted, and Yoru had to hold his cell phone away from his ear. “If you overwork your leg too much, you won’t be able to play ever again! None of us want that, and we have a right to worry and be mad if you keep doing this!”

“I- I know, Haruka….” He said softly, pulling his pant leg up and staring at his scar in distaste. “I know, but… I want to play. I want to know that I can still do this. It’s hard to judge how many times I can use hissatsu techniques before it takes its toll that day. I thought I’d be fine if I did it twice, but…”

Haruka sighed again, voice growing soft as a small coo came from her end. “But it wasn’t.” She continued. “I get it, Yoru. Your brother, parents, and I all do. We went through this together, remember? We just…” Another sigh, and Hyouga asked something Yoru couldn’t decipher. Haruka’s answer was muffled, but the next time she spoke it was clear and steady through the phone. “We just don’t want you to be unable to even dribble a ball again. We want you to be happy, Yoru.”

Yoru curled up a bit tighter, tears forming in his eyes. “I know.”

“I know you know.” Haruka said softly, and Yoru could just hear her smile. “Now then, while I go get my lazy bum of a husband to go pick you up, how about you talk to Hyouga?”

Yoru laughed, sniffling and wiping away the unshed tears. “That’d be wonderful.”

“Yo-woo?” A toddler’s voice spoke from Haruka’s end, and Yoru instantly felt lighter. He stood up, grabbing his bag and starting to head out of the locker room. “Unca Yo-woo?”

“Hey, Hyouga!” He said brightly, “Still can’t say my name properly, huh?”

“I’m only thee unca!” Yoru laughed, nodding even though Hyouga couldn’t see it.

“Who is three months away from turning four, kiddo. I know you can pronounce these things, I live with you.”

“You’re no fun, Unca!” Hyouga groaned on the other end, and Yoru could imagine his puffed up cheeks and stern look.

“Is there something you wanted to tell me, Hyouga?” He asked instead, waving to Raimon and his team as they stood waiting outside the cafeteria, and Hyouga let out an excited gasp.

“Oh yeah! Daddy started teaching me soccer!”

That actually made Yoru freeze in the middle of the hall. Natsume was going to teach Hyouga soccer?

That almost seemed too good to be true.

“Really?” He asked, and Hyouga made a sound of confirmation.

“Uh-huh! He said-“

“Ah, Hyouga, no!” Natsume’s panicked voice suddenly appeared, and Yoru had to stop himself from chuckling. “That’s a secret, remember! No telling Uncle Yoru why!”

Hyouga let out a small shout of surprise as he remembered it was apparently a secret, and Yoru actually did laugh this time as he made his way to the group.

“What are you laughing about?!” Natsume shrieked into the phone, clearly flustered, and Yoru once again had to pull the phone away from his ear. “You are in big trouble, Yoru!”

“Oi, oi! Don’t yell around Hyouga! He might mistake it for it being _him_ you’re yelling at!” Yoru said quickly, and Natsume sighed.

“He knows what this is about.” Natsume grumbled. “Anyway, I’m on my way to come get you. Is Fubuki staying over again?”

“Let me ask.” Yoru pulled the phone away from his ear, placing a hand over the receiver and looking to Fubuki. “Fubuki, are you staying over again?”

“Actually I think I’ll spend the night with Raimon.” Fubuki said softly, smiling, and Yoru nodded.

“He’s not staying over, but you might want to bring Hyouga if that’s the case. I’ve got something big to tell you.”

“Eh? Then why don’t I just bring the family over there!”

“Because that’s not going to end well with Hyouga, and I’d rather you not embarrass me.”

Natsume sighed. “Fair point. I don’t even know what it is you need to tell me. But I’ll be right over- with Hyouga in tow. Hyouga! Say bye to Yoru and grab your coat!”

“See you soon, Yo-woo!”

“See you soon, Hyouga.” Yoru ended the phone call, sighing as he closed his phone. “Sorry, that was a longer conversation than I expected.” He apologized to Raimon, and Endou laughed.

“It’s fine! Are you spending the night at home?”

“Yeah. My nephew is going to cry if I don’t spend the night with him, so…”

“Nephew?” Kazemaru asked, and Yoru smiled, nodding.

“Yeah, my brother has a three year old, and I’ve been living with them for a while now.”

“Why don’t you live with your parents, if you don’t mind us asking?” Zaizen asked, and Yoru smiled.

“I don’t mind. My parents couldn’t handle the constant cold like they used to, so they moved a little further down south, where it isn’t always snowing. They knew I liked it here, so I just moved in with my brother.”

“And… you stay over at his place often?” Kidou asked Fubuki, who nodded.

“It’s fun.”

“And Hyouga adores him.” Yoru added, lightly elbowing Fubuki.

“And his nephew adores me.” Fubuki admonished, sighing softly as he gave Yoru a small smile.

“Huh.” The Raimon team processed the information, and Yoru hummed, motioning towards the cafeteria.

“So… How about we get dinner started for you guys?”

“That works for us!” Aki said happily, and the group piled into the cafeteria to start making snacks and dinner. Footsteps appeared behind them and Yoru turned to see who it was, smiling a bit when he saw it was Hitomiko.

She smiled as she came to a stop beside them. “Good news. Yukimura, Fubuki, you are officially a part of the Inazuma caravan!”

“Alright!” Everyone cheered, and conversations suddenly flowed much more easily between the group.


	3. Chapter 2: Joining A New Team

“Uncle Yoru!” A familiar voice echoed through the halls, and Yoru looked up from where he was helping the girls cook, stepping away to look out the door.

“Hyouga?”

“Yoru!” Yoru yelped as he was suddenly tackled to the ground, landing flat on his back with a toddler crushing him in a hug.

“Hyouga!” Yoru said, shocked, and running could be heard coming closer.

Hyouga gasped as he suddenly sat up on Yoru’s chest, looking over his shoulder. “Yoru! You need to hide!”

“What? Why?” Yoru asked, sitting up and looking at Hyouga in confusion. Hyouga pouted, pointing down the hall as an angry Natsume appeared. Yoru paled again as he looked outside and laughed nervously. “Uh-oh.’’

Kazemaru, Kabeyama, Endou, and Fubuki also looked around the corner then, curious. Kabeyama almost immediately paled and moved back, and Kazemaru and Endou exchanged a glance.

“Oh wow, your brother is really mad this time.” Fubuki commented idly, and Hyouga’s head snapped towards him, eyes widening.

“Fubuki!” Yoru grunted as Hyouga launched himself at Fubuki while using him as a springboard, and Fubuki chuckled.

“Evening, Hyouga.”

“Yoru!” Natsume shouted, and Yoru winced, yelping as he was suddenly picked up by his shirt collar like a kitten by the scruff. He laughed nervously, looking at Natsume and waving.

“Hi Natsume…” He said softly, and Natsume glared, poking his chest lightly.

“Why do you keep doing this?! This is the third time this _month_! You know it’s dangerous!”

“I know, I know!” Yoru shouted nervously, not wanting to get scolded in front of his new friends. “Natsume, I know!”

Natsume stared at Yoru for a while before finally letting go of his shirt, steadying Yoru with a hand on his back as he sighed. “One of these days, you’re going to hurt yourself again, Yoru. I know it’s repetitive at this point but you need to be more careful.” He said softly, all anger drained from his voice.

Yoru nodded, before clearing his throat and motioning to the others. “Anyway… Brother, this is Raimon’s soccer team.”

Natsume blinked, looking at the rest of the stunned group as if this was the first time he saw them, and he immediately turned bright red. “Oh… Hello there.” He said awkwardly, waving a bit, and Endou laughed nervously, returning the greeting.

“Raimon, this is my brother, Natsume, and that’s his son, Hyouga.”

“Tell the others hi, Hyouga.” Fubuki told the small boy in his lap, and Hyouga turned to face the rest of the soccer team, waving.

“Hi!” He said simply, before turning back to Fubuki and beginning to play with him again.

“Um… Sorry about… that entrance of mine.” Natsume said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “I just kind of zeroed in on my little brother and didn’t compose myself like I should have.”

“It’s alright.” Kidou said softly, smiling a bit. “I think I get where you’re coming from.”

Natsume laughed weakly again before turning back to Yoru. “So why exactly is Japan’s top team here, and why did Hyouga need to come with me just to see Fubuki?” He asked and Yoru smiled sheepishly.

“Well… We’ve kind of become a part of the team?”

“What?!” Natsume shouted in surprise.

“Yeah, there is this weird school that’s been going around destroying other junior highs with soccer, and Raimon is trying to create the strongest team on Earth to defeat them.” Yoru explained quickly, “See, uh, they came here looking mostly for Fubuki, I’m pretty sure, and-“

“And where Fubuki goes, you go.” Natsume sighed heavily, “Well, I don’t need the details, but I can imagine this means you won’t be home for some time. I get why you wanted me to bring Hyouga now.” He smiled, ruffling Yoru’s hair. “Haruka’ll be happy to hear about this! I’ll go head down to town and pick up some stuff, and you and Hyouga can stay here a bit longer, if you want.” He looked at Coach Hitomiko shyly, scratching lightly at his cheek. “Is that alright with you, ma’am?”

“I don’t see why not.” Coach Hitomiko said with a small sigh. “He seems pretty attached right now, anyway.” Fubuki let out an embarrassed laugh at that, but he didn’t stop playing with Hyouga until the small boy’s attention was taken by the girls.

\------

The next morning, Yoru was dropped off at Hakuren by not only his brother, but Haruka and Hyouga, too.

“Good luck Uncle Yoru!” Hyouga said cheerfully, and Haruka gave Yoru a kiss on the cheek.

“You have fun, alright? Don’t overwork yourself, stay safe, you know the rest.” Haruka said softly, smiling and ruffling Yoru’s hair. “Tell the same to Fubuki.”

“Will do, Haruka.” Yoru said softly, and Natsume gave him a hug as well, lifting Yoru off the ground slightly.

“Do your best, okay, little bro?”

Yoru laughed, nodding. “You guys are making too big a deal out of this!”

“We can do what we want!” Natsume teased, setting Yoru down and patting his shoulder a few times. “Have fun, okay? We’ll be waiting for you when you get back.

“I know. Sorry you and Haruka can’t have date nights for a while.”

“Eh, we’ll manage. It won’t be the first time we have little to no chances to be alone.”

Yoru nodded, waved as Natsume got back into the car, and turned to head into the building so he could head to the soccer field.

“Ah, Yukimura! Glad to see you’re here. I have a uniform I need you to try on.” Coach Hitomiko said almost the moment he went inside. Yoru blinked, surprised.

“Uh… What kind of uniform?” He asked, and Hitomiko smiled.

“It’s in the locker room. I think you’ll like it.”

“Okay…” Yoru said uncertainly, and Hitomiko simply laughed softly before heading towards the soccer field.

“We’ll meet you and Fubuki down at the field, don’t take too long!”

“Yes ma’am!” Yoru called, heading to the locker room. He smiled when he saw Fubuki putting Atsuya’s scarf back on, dressed in Raimon’s uniform. “Well don’t you look nice?”

Fubuki jumped in surprise, smiling when he saw Yoru. “Good morning, Yukimura!”

“Morning, Fubuki.” Yoru said happily, opening his locker and pulling out the new uniform within. It looked fairly similar to the jacket and uniform Raimon had, but it had long pants and a tie, like his Hakuren uniform. He could already tell it wasn’t material made for cold, either.

“It looks nice.” Fubuki hummed when he noticed Yoru was just studying the outfit. “I wonder how she managed to get it made so fast?”

“These aren’t sweatpants and I’m going to freeze while we’re here.” Yoru said with a laugh, before shrugging in response to Fubuki’s question. “I don’t know. It _does_ look good though.” He quickly changed, pulling on the yellow and blue short-sleeved top and dark blueish-green pants. He was glad they were long, but he could already imagine his legs freezing while he watched the others practice.

“Like it?” He asked Fubuki, who grinned and nodded.

“Looks great.”

“Awesome. Let’s go, then. They’re probably wondering where we are.” Yoru put on the Raimon jacket, grabbed his bag again, and together he and Fubuki went outside. “Oh, the family says good luck and have fun, by the way.”

“I wish I could tell them thanks.”

“I’ll let you talk to them later tonight.” Yoru assured, smiling. Endou was busy giving a small pep talk to the rest of the team when he noticed them.

“Yo!” He called, and Araya let out an awed sound as she and the rest of Hakuren’s soccer club stood nearby.

“Whoa, it looks good on you guys, Yukimura, Fubuki!”

“It’s so cool!” Yukino agreed, and Yoru and Fubuki both smiled at them.

“Thanks, guys.” They said together.

“Now we’re members of Raimon Eleven.” Fubuki said happily, “We promise we’ll protect Hakuren Junior High.” Yoru nodded in agreement, laughing softly as Endou came over and gave Fubuki a hearty slap on the back.

“That’s the spirit!”Endou said cheerfully, putting his hands on his hips as Fubuki turned to him and asked what they were practicing.

Deciding he didn’t need to stay on the field anymore, Yoru waved before leaving Fubuki’s side to sit on the bench with Raimon’s managers. He set his bag down beside him, stretching his legs out in front of him.

“Glad to see it looks good, Yukimura.” Hitomiko said with a smile as he stretched out his legs, and Yoru laughed.

“It’s great. Thank you for giving me long pants, and not shorts.” He said honestly, bowing his head to show his thanks.

“It’s the least we could do.” She smiled at him once more before walking over to Fubuki and telling him to act as a forward.

‘Let’s hope Atsuya doesn’t get carried away.’ Yoru thought as he watched the team start playing.

“Is your leg feeling better today, Yukimura?” One of the girls asked, drawing Yoru’s attention away from the match and towards Natsumi.

“Hm?” He asked, before registering the question. “Oh,” He smiled, “It’s fine right now, thank you. I won’t participate in practice today, but my leg won’t give out on me again. Nothing I can’t handle.”

The girls looked a little relieved at that, and Yoru turned his attention back to the team, watching and analyzing every detail he could to make plays and formations for them. He slumped and let out a heavy sigh as Fubuki ignored his teammates and transformed into Atsuya, putting a hand on his forehead and shaking his head.

“Fubuki is a very tricky player. He may be difficult to control even for our next match against Aliea Academy.” Hitomiko said, surprising the girls, and Yoru sighed once again.

“No, not tricky,” He breathed, pushing himself up from the bench, “Just difficult.” He looked over his shoulder at the girls. “You need to know how to handle him when he’s like this.” He smiled before heading out into the field as Fubuki changed back into Shiro.

“Listen… Ichinose and Kidou have been calling for you to pass the ball to them!” Someoka snapped.

“But this is what I’ve always been doing…”

“You can’t do it that way now, Fubuki.” Yoru said as he walked up, smiling and tapping his finger against Fubuki’s forehead. “Remember what I’ve been having you work on with Hakuren? You have to let the others shine, too.”

Fubuki frowned slightly, and Yoru sighed. “I _know_ , remember? I’ve watched you do this for over a year. But for now, until they can match up to you, you’ll need to match yourself to them.”

“Even if you say to do that,” Fubuki said calmly, looking up at Someoka for a moment before looking at Yoru. “Building up a sweaty stick like them sounds tiring.”

Yoru choked on his next words, eyes widening before he covered his mouth and let out a loud laugh while Someoka was held back by Ichinose and Domon. “I forgot you had this side!” Yoru giggled, looking at Raimon apologetically.

“Nevertheless, there are some top level teams in the world that use play styles that revolve around one individual.” Megane said, and Yoru nodded in agreement. He also nodded in agreement when Someoka snapped that they were Raimon and not Hakuren, although what he said after made Yoru a little mad.

‘It’s not so much that he’s selfish… it’s just that, to him, he’s playing as Shiro and Atsuya. Two people… one body.’ Yoru thought as Kazemaru spoke about matching himself to Fubuki, and he smiled. That was a good idea, and he and Fubuki knew just how to make it happen. The Hakuren boys exchanged a glance and a nod before looking at the Raimon group.

“In that case, you just need to be like the wind.” Fubuki said, catching their attention again.

“And we know just how to help.” Yoru said next, smiling brightly. At their confused looks, Fubuki smiled.

“Come with me, I’ll show you.”

“I’ll go get what we need.” Yoru said, before turning towards the rest of the Hakuren team. “Yukino, Hakoda, come help me. The rest of you, well.” Yoru laughed, “You know what to do!”

Hakuren’s team split up then, and Yoru went to the storage shed with Yukino and Hakoda. They gathered up the snowboards and extra helmets and other padding, carrying them out back to the ski slope and setting them a safe distance away.

“Thanks. You two can go help the others now.” The other boys cheered, heading off to the sides of the slope, where the rest of Hakuren’s team had split up and made as many giant snowballs as possible.

Raimon wandered over to the edge, looking down the slope in surprise. “Wow, you guys even have this?” Ichinose asked, looking over at Yoru.

Yoru laughed, smiling. “We _are_ a school surrounded by snow. Snow sports are our greatest strength, and a fun pass time.” He heard the sound of someone sliding towards them and he smiled. “Ah! Fubuki’s back!” He said happily, and Raimon’s team looked over to where he was at the top of the slope, Hakuren’s team getting into position with their snowballs.

“A snowboard?” Endou asked, grinning.

“How would that help?” Kazemaru asked, and Yoru grinned.

“Just watch.” He said, and Fubuki explained a bit further.

“The snow helps us turn into the wind.” Fubuki started down the slope then, immediately gaining speed. Yoru watched, pleased, as Raimon’s team quickly grew amazed as Fubuki dodged the snowballs with ease. He let Araya explain further, eyes focused on his friend and almost itching to join him. The sound of Megane and Kurimatsu screaming and crashing into the slope pulled his attention away from Fubuki. His eyes widened when he saw the trees shake and snow toppled from their branches, and he quickly looked back at Fubuki.

Fubuki quickly stopped moving, dropping to his knees and ducking. He was visibly shaking. “Fubuki?” Endou asked as Yoru was already sliding down the side of the slope to reach Fubuki’s side.

Fubuki curled in on himself as Yoru crouched by his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. He trembled violently under the touch, and Yoru reached over with his other hand to have Fubuki look at him. “Hey.” He whispered, smiling at Fubuki. “It’s okay. Some snow just fell from the trees. Everyone’s okay.”

The fear in Fubuki’s eyes faded away at his words, and both boys let out relieved sighs.

“Fubuki! Are you okay?” Endou and Kazemaru ran up to them, and Fubuki lifted his head to smile at them.

“Yeah…” He said weakly, letting out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, sorry. Just a little slip up.”

“Anyway,” Yoru stood up, pulling Fubuki to his feet before looking at Endou and Kazemaru. “Are you guys ready to try it?”

“Yeah!” Endou cheered, and Kazemaru gave a small smile and a nod.

Yoru smiled, and he made his way off the slope. “Then let’s get you guys in gear!”


	4. Chapter 3: Falling Into Routine

Watching Endou and the others flounder for their footing while never giving up was both inspiring, and funny to watch. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and even Fubuki was having fun with them.

That, along with the cold seeping into his skin through the thin jacket and pants that made up his outfit, only made Yoru’s desire to join in on the training even stronger. He forced himself to stay put, walking along the top ledge to try and keep his leg from cramping while calling out advice to the team. “Kazemaru, try centering yourself more! It’ll give you more stability. Endou, same thing!”

“Don’t forget to enjoy yourself, either!” Fubuki called as he passed with a laugh. “Once you do, your body will follow!”

Yoru laughed, nodding in agreement, and he stayed to watch them until the girls went to help make dinner, where he helped.

“You don’t have to help if you don’t want to, Yukimura!” Aki said quickly as he ran to catch up to them, and he laughed.

“I want to help. I’m a manager now, too, and if I stay out there any longer in this outfit I’ll freeze.” He shrugged a bit after that. “Besides, I’m not really doing anything out here anymore. They’ve got the basics down, and now it’s just up to them to get comfortable going fast.”

“As long as you’re sure.” Natsumi chuckled, and Yoru grinned, nodding.

“You bet!”

They went inside and to the kitchen, and Yoru waved hello to the bus driver before washing his hands. “So what exactly are we going to make?”

“This is what we’re going for.” Otonashi said, showing a meal plan on her laptop before going to write on the chalkboard. “They’ll be disappointed there isn’t more food, but it’s to help them get stronger for the upcoming fight.”

Yoru hummed as he looked at the plan. “I like it. Simple and healthy. Are you sure chewing 30 times is actually necessary, though?”

The girls shrugged, and Yoru laughed. “Better safe than sorry, I suppose.”

“Yep!” Aki and Otonashi chorused, and they all got to work prepping the food.

By the time they were done, the team was coming to the room, and Yoru couldn’t stop a small laugh from escaping as he took in the energy the girls had over the meal plan and the disappointment radiating from a good portion of the team.

“Come now, it’s not going to kill you to have a small dinner.” Yoru explained from the sink, washing one of the pots they had used. “It’s already getting rather late, anyway.”

Begrudgingly, the team sat down to eat, doing as instructed and mood getting better as they tasted the food. Yoru finished helping Furukabu clean up and put everything in the back of the bus, brushing off his thanks with a wave of his hand. He liked helping with minor things like this.

“Yukimura!” Otonashi called from out the window of the cafeteria. “Your phone is ringing!”

“Ah! If Fubuki’s done eating let him answer it! I’ll be there in a minute!” Yoru called back, and after a brief pause she gave him a thumbs up and ducked back inside, closing the window as she told Fubuki to answer it.

Yukimura went back to the cafeteria, smiling when he saw Fubuki outside and talking with his brother on the phone. “Ah! He’s back now. Here, I’ll give him the phone.” Fubuki said as he caught sight of Yoru. He handed the phone to Yoru when he was done, and Yoru thanked him, double checked the caller ID just in case, and put the phone to his ear.

“What’s up, Natsume?”

“Just checking in! How was the first day?”

“Good. We’re helping them get faster.” Yoru explained, and Natsume laughed.

“Yes, Fubuki told us about what happened today. Sounds like you two are having fun!” A beat of silence after Yoru hummed in agreement, and when Natsume spoke again, it was in an almost conspiratorial whisper. “By the way, Hyouga was ecstatic when Fubuki answered instead of you. You should let him do it more often.”

Yoru laughed, nodding even though Natsume couldn’t see. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

“Mhm. You know, it’s really cute how close you and Fubuki are after only a year of knowing each other.” His brother’s tone turned sly, and Yoru immediately felt flustered embarrassment flood through him.

“Natsume! It’s not like that!” He hissed, and his brother let out a bright laugh.

“I know, I’m just teasing you.” A pause. “For the most part.”

“ _Natsume!_ "

“Gotta go! Bye Yoru!” Before Yoru could say anything else, the call ended and instead he just glared at the phone screen, hoping he wasn’t blushing.

“Everything okay?” Fubuki asked, and Yoru took a moment to calm himself before sighing and nodding.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Natsume was just teasing me about stuff.”

Fubuki nodded in understanding, and they went back to join the group for the night.

\----

The next day, Yoru woke up early and went about getting ready for the day as quietly as he could. He noticed that Fubuki, Someoka, Endou, and Kazemaru were missing from the bus, so he figured they were already practicing. He wandered out to the ski slope to see if he was right, and he saw Fubuki watching the group with a solemn expression on his face.

“They look like they are having fun, don’t they?” He said softly, smiling as Fubuki turned to him. Fubuki smiled after a moment, nodding, and Yoru joined him at his spot near the edge of the slope. They were quiet as they watched, until Yoru broke the silence again. “You and Atsuya don’t have to play soccer by yourselves anymore. These guys, they can match up to you in ways Hakuren is still trying to get to, and ways that I no longer can.”

Fubuki chuckled softly, smiling at Yoru. “Yukimura, you… You always seem to surprise me.” He said with a small laugh, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the nearby tree. “You’ve come to understand me better in the year we’ve know each other than most of the people I’ve grown up with have.”

Yoru laughed then, huffing and running a hand through his hair before looking at Fubuki. “Well, those who have to fight their demons stick together, no?”

Fubuki’s smile faded and turned to one of sullen surprise, but it came back as he nodded. “Yeah, I suppose they do.” He said softly. Yoru gave Fubuki a close-eyed smile, but the calm moment they were experiencing was immediately shattered as Yoru was nailed right in the side of the head with a snowball.

“Ah! Sorry, Yukimura!” Endou shouted up to him as Fubuki tried to stifle a laugh and Yoru blinked, trying to register just what had happened. His lips curled into a mischievous smile, and he knelt down, packing snow into a ball before throwing it at Fubuki, who yelped and ducked. Before Fubuki could retaliate, Yoru laughed and slid down the side of the slope and ducked behind Someoka- the tallest of the group.

“Hey!” Someoka protested, but it was quickly replaced with laughter as the five boys started the snowball fight again, and by the time they went in for breakfast, at least one of them was completely drenched in melted snow.

The rest of the day was about the same for Yoru; he gave the members who were still struggling some advice, helped Raimon’s other managers cook, and helped clean up until after dinner, where he and the others either worked on homework or played games until it was time to sleep. It was a rinse and repeat kind of situation, much like school, and Yoru fell into routine alongside Fubuki easily enough.

It was fun, and each time a team member got better at dodging and understanding the speed, Yoru would clap and give a short cheer congratulating them. Sometimes, he’d join the rest of them in practice, speeding alongside the rest of the team and feeling like he belonged.

On the fourth day, Someoka challenged Fubuki to a scoring match. First one to make a shoot into the goal was the ace striker of Raimon Eleven.

At some time in the afternoon, he and the rest of Raimon watched Someoka and Fubuki play against each other. He was proud of how well Atsuya took the loss before letting Shirou take over again, and he walked over to help him to his feet.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you change back because of that squirrel.” He said with a small laugh, smiling a bit as he clapped Fubuki on the back.

“I didn’t want to risk hitting it with the ball.” Fubuki said softly, and Yoru nodded.

“I know, and I’m glad you thought of it. It scared it off the field and back into the tree, see?” He pointed to the tree the squirrel was in, sitting next to another one, and Fubuki smiled gently, relieved.

The next day, Aliea Academy came.


	5. Chapter 4: Vibrant Hearts and Poisoned Light

“They’re finally here.” Endou murmured as the sky darkened, and Yoru felt a chill creep up his spine as the team from Aliea Academy appeared on top of the school building. Something about them was… oppressive. Suffocating.

He didn’t want to be anywhere near them.

He took as subtle a step back as he could, eyes not leaving the ones threatening to destroy Hakuren for even a moment. He had to stay calm, analyze their movements and plays, their habits and the way they acted around each other. He had to find their weak spots, and point Raimon towards them.

How could Endou and the others not be afraid of them? Couldn’t they feel it? Or were they too determined to notice?

“You guys again?” The captain of the team said calmly. “Why are you here?”

“Fight us instead!” Endou shouted, punching his fist in the air towards Aliea. The captain laughed, smirking as he looked down at them all.

“The learning capability of you earthlings is even lower than I imagined.” He said smugly. “Why don’t you understand, even though you’ve been beaten twice? You can’t win against us!”

‘They didn’t have Fubuki then. What do you know?’ Yoru thought, eyes narrowing into a glare without him realizing it.

“You aliens sure don’t have much imagination.” Zaizen taunted, putting her hands on her hips. “Can’t you tell that we’ve powered up?” She winked, and the captain’s eyes narrowed.

“Earth has a saying that goes like this: ‘What happens twice, happens thrice!” The captain kicked the ball he had been holding, and it made a swerving pattern towards Endou, who caught it with ease before smirking.

\---

“Is our school going to be destroyed?” Araya asked worriedly as everyone prepped for the match.

“Don’t worry.” Yoru said softly, smiling at his team even though inside he was a little terrified. Fubuki nodded in agreement, smiling at the others.

“I’ll protect Hakuren.” Fubuki said softly, making the team smile.

“And I’ll do my best to help, too.” Yoru said, just as soft. “I’ll figure out their weak spots.”

Araya’s frown finally turned into a small smile, and at the sound of Fubuki’s name they turned.

“Let’s do our best!” Endou almost cheered.

“Send them flying everywhere with Eternal Blizzard!” Kurimatsu added confidently, and Yoru’s smile turned a little more genuine. That’s right. These guys were here. They’d fought Aliea Academy before, and they weren’t afraid. So why was he?

Yoru took a deep breath and placed a hand on Fubuki’s shoulder. “I’ll be right behind you guys all the way.” He said confidently, smiling before laughing a bit. “I just hope I get a chance to tell you guys’ things before you figure it out ourselves!”

“Fubuki, I want you center-back.” Hitomiko said, and although it surprised Raimon, Yoru had no reason to disagree. For one, getting at least Fubuki familiar with their movements would be a smart idea as well as easier if he was on defense, and for another thing, Yoru had no idea what they were like, so he couldn’t really give his own input.

“Makes sense to me.” He said out loud, smiling at the group, and Fubuki nodded when Coach Hitomiko told him to seal off using Eternal Blizzard.

“Why?” Ichinose asked, getting a little angry at their Coach. “We were going to attack using Fubuki’s speed! That’s how we were going to go up against them!”

“Patience, Ichinose.” Yoru said with a small laugh. “She knows what she’s doing.”

“I didn’t ask for opinions.” Hitomiko said sternly, turning around and walking away, leaving Raimon stunned. Endou quickly brought moral up again, along with Natsumi and Kidou. Yoru watched Fubuki grip Atsuya’s scarf a little tighter, and when he caught his eye, Fubuki smiled reassuringly at him. Yoru returned it the best he could. They could do this. He knew they could.

He just wished his faith in them would stop wavering.

He joined the girls on the bench, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his knees. Someone was narrating the match, and Yoru did his best to block them out as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to focus. Focus on Aliea Academy, find their weak spots, their habits, _anything_. He couldn’t let their aura suffocate him.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, and everything felt sharper, clearer. Everyone had a glow around them, too. Endou’s was blindingly bright, a mixture of white, orange and red. A fighting spirit in a boy who only wanted soccer to be loved, and for everyone to be rivals, not enemies. Fubuki’s was a clashing mix of turquoise and blue mixing with grey and reddish-orange mixed with black. Shiro, gentle and understanding, a security blanket for his friends despite his own trauma, and Atsuya, fierce and protective over his brother even as a creation of Fubuki’s own mind; split apart and yet clinging to each other like a lifeline, mingling and creating Fubuki Shirou. Yoru noticed that they were spreading further apart, though. Not together and warring even though they wanted to coexist. Fubuki’s demons in the works, it seemed.

Yoru quickly looked away.

His gaze rove over everyone on the team before it focused on Aliea Academy, and he nearly recoiled from shock. “W-What the…” He murmured, staring with wide eyes at Aliea’s soccer team. Every single glow was snuffed out, covered in a sickly purple-black fog that only intensified the suffocating feeling Yoru was feeling. His stomach rolled. Was this because they were aliens, or was something else going on? He wanted to look away, but as the match started, he knew he had to keep looking. He had to find gaps, make plays.

He physically recoiled as Aliea’s team moved, the ugly shade of purple flaring and covering the team more as they darted around the field, and he had to close his eyes for a second.

“Yukimura?” Otonashi asked, and Yoru gasped, suddenly heaving for air he didn’t realize he had been holding.

“There’s- something’s not _right_.” He explained, choking on the words and trying to describe it without sounding crazy, even as he continued focusing on Aliea Academy’s sickened glows. “I-I can’t explain it but something is very, very _wrong_ with Aliea. Something bad.”

“Are you okay?” Otonashi asked instead, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You look like you’re going to be sick…”

“They aren’t right.” He felt scared, distressed, and he still felt like he couldn’t breathe. He flinched, having to close his eyes once again as the goal keeper used a hissatsu technique and the sickly purple flared violently over the color beneath. When Yoru opened them again, the glows were gone and nothing was sharpened any longer. It felt dulled, blurred. His head hurt. His nails dug into the wood, and he could feel that his knuckles had gone white.

He shook his head, blinking rapidly and staring at the dirt ground beneath his feet. Breathe. Focus. Calm down.

He could do this.

Yoru took another steadying breath, giving the girls an apologetic smile. He could feel Coach Hitomiko boring into him, analyzing everything she could about him without having eyes like his. “Sorry.” He said, giving them a weak laugh. “Sorry. I-I’m okay. This was- is- just… a lot?” He laughed nervously again, hesitantly bringing his gaze back to the match. “I’ve got a handle on it now, though.”

He closed his eyes again, refocusing himself. He opened his eyes and this time didn’t panic at the actions of the sickly purple, focusing more closely on the movements of the players. The girl with a bun in her hair licked her lips before passing a ball, there was a pause that could be long enough to take the ball between passed from the kid with the mask to the captain, their goalie was a second slow in moving to stop the shoots. If they could utilize these-

The first half ended.

Yoru blinked, and his senses dulled. The team came back over for half time, and he wasn’t quite sure his legs would hold him up as he stood to go over to the team. Fubuki must have seen how ashen he looked because he frowned and gave him a questioning look. Yoru shook his head, taking a deep breath as he walked over to them. “They have habits. Look for their habits.” He said as calmly as he could. This was no time to be shaken up.

“For example, the girl with the purple hair in a bun and red lipstick licks her lips before she passes to the guy with mask.”

“…You were able to see that from the bench?” Ichinose asked, shocked, and Yoru only gave him a tired smile.

“The goalie also had a second delay before he reacts to your shoots, try and crank up your speed and power in order to utilize this. If you can’t that’s alright, too. You should be able to make them. There are also varying pause times between common passes of players. Steal the balls when you see even a bit of an opening.” He laughed weakly. “Sorry I couldn’t get more helpful information.”

“No, that’s incredibly helpful.” Kidou said, his eyebrows furrowing. “But Ichinose’s right, how could you see that from the bench?”

“Yukimura has amazing eyes.” Fubuki explained happily, a fond note slipping into his voice. “It’s why he’s our Northern Star.”

“And used to be Oumihara’s command tower.” Hitomiko said calmly, before looking at Fubuki. “Fubuki, you’re free to shoot now. Head up as a forward in the second half.” She looked to Yoru then. “Yukimura, Don’t overwork yourself. I don’t know what happened, but from what I know of your abilities, that was not normal.”

“Eh? What happened?” Endou and Fubuki both asked, and Yoru looked down.

“Nothing happened. I just… got surprised.” He muttered, not wanting to talk about this now. Otonashi opened her mouth to argue, and Yoru quickly continued, raising his voice slightly in the beginning. “Just focus on the game, okay? You’ll win this, for sure.” He let out a slow breath before looking at them again and smiling. “I’ll do my best to find more tips to give you guys.”

“Yukimura…”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry, okay?”

As the team heading back towards the field, Yoru remembered something, rushing forward and placing a hand lightly on Fubuki’s shoulder. “Oh, wait! One last thing.”

“Hm?” Fubuki questioned, and Yoru grinned.

“Blow ‘em away, Fubuki.” He said confidently, and Fubuki looked at him with wide eyes before grinning widely and nodding. “Just-“ He added, before Fubuki could walk away. “Just remember teamwork this time. Please?”

Fubuki laughed, nodding again. “Right.”

“Thank you!” Yoru dropped his hand from Fubuki’s shoulder, stepping back and shooing Fubuki towards the field. “Now go and beat them!”

When Yoru was sitting back down and he could take a short break before trying to find anything else to point out to the team, he sighed heavily, groaning softly and tilting his head back. He opened his eyes and looked at the emergency camera crew and news people upside down, frowning slightly.

Just what was that glow? And since when could purple look sickly? It didn’t make sense.

Then again, very little about this situation did.

When the second half of the match started, Yoru forced himself to look back at the field. He could handle this. Just a little more. Then he could forget he ever saw that glow of theirs and sleep the rest of the day away.

He sharpened his senses, watching as calmly and carefully as he would if Gemini Storm was a normal team. He chuckled as he watched Atsuya, knowing that even if he seemed to be hogging the ball, he had taken Yoru’s words to heart and was making up a plan of his own.

“I thought you told him to use teamwork?” Aki asked, and Yoru laughed again.

“Just watch.” He said softly, smiling as Ichinose managed to get the ball from Gemini Storm with his tip about the habits. “Fubuki’s got a plan.”

A few moments later, Fubuki’s plan became clear when he drew the defense to him before passing to Someoka, who managed to make the goal and take back the point they lost. He would have cheered with everyone else, but he was too focused and too tired at the same time to do much more than let out a happy laugh.

He had forgotten how much panicking could wear him down, and that wasn’t even adding the added exhaustion of looking at that sickly, disturbing color so much. It hurt his eyes to look at for too long but he kept looking until he finally decided he couldn’t focus on any more tells, his eyes burning and senses feeling even more dulled than usual when he went back to normal.

He rubbed at his eyes but smiled as he watched the remainder of the game. Fubuki scored a second goal, actually using so much power it froze the entire inside of the goal and even out the back, high into the air. The ice melted almost immediately, the ball dropping to the ground as the final whistle blew.

It was quiet for a moment.

They had saved Hakuren.

Everyone began cheering, celebrating the victory. Otonashi hugged Aki tightly, and Yoru clapped, smiling at the team. He stood, giving Fubuki a thumbs up when he changed back to Shiro and walking over.

“Are you really okay? You’ve never looked this tired before.” Fubuki asked when he came over, but before he could response they were both tackled by the rest of their team.

“You protect our school!” Iya cheered, and Fubuki laughed softly.

“We promised, didn’t we?” He said happily, and Yoru nodded.

“We wouldn’t let you guys down!”

The cheerfulness in the air died as the captain of Gemini Storm spoke up again, his gaze locked on the ground. “You guys don’t know… the real terror of Aliea Academy.”

Yoru tensed at that, dread building in his stomach.

“We are only the second rank.” The captain continued. “Compared to Epsilon, we’re…”

“How pathetic, Reize.” A new voice spoke from a dark mist that began covering the field. Yoru felt his breath catch in his throat, chills running down his spine and warning bells going off in his head.

A new team appeared, and Yoru definitely took a few steps back this time. The glow was there, surrounding the new team ever so slightly without him needing to sharpen his senses. He looked away quickly, gulping nervously. He could feel Fubuki looking at him before turning to watch the new team warily. A bright magenta light formed in the edges of Yoru’s vision, and Gemini Storm’s voices disappeared along with it. He shuddered. The suffocating feeling only grew as Epsilon’s sickly glow flashed brighter while they introduced themselves before disappearing.

He could hardly breathe when the suffocating feeling lifted, and he shook his head, taking shaky breaths. “They’re dangerous.” He murmured, “So, so dangerous.”

He jumped as he felt a hand grab his own, and he looked over to see Fubuki standing close, hiding their hands from view as he gave Yoru’s hand a small squeeze. “Just breathe, Yukimura.” He whispered. “We’ll be okay.”

Yoru nodded, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to calm his heart. He wanted to believe Fubuki’s words, but something kept him from agreeing.


	6. Chapter 5: Wicked and Unwicked

Yoru sighed as they got off the bus, stretching his arms over his head. They had been in the caravan all day, and it was nice to finally be able to get up and move around as they stopped for food, at least.

“Epsilon has sent an advanced notice to Manyuuji Junior High in Kyoto.” Coach Hitomiko explained after everyone had settled and was paying attention.

“Manyuuji Junior High?” Kazemaru asked, “I’ve never heard of that school before.”

“If I remember correctly, they never entered the Football Frontier.” Natsumi said, holding one arm and holding her hand in front of her chin as she thought. Otonashi nodded in agreement.

“The school motto for Manyuuji Junior High is ‘enhance the mind and body’, which is why their soccer club doesn’t participate in tournaments. But, it is said that if they had entered the Football Frontier, they would undoubtedly have been one of the championship teams.” Hitomiko explained, surprising the kids.

“Championship team?” They repeated, and Hitomiko explained even further.

“Through a strict training regime that toughens their bodies and sharpens their minds, Manyuuji’s soccer is the best of the best in both speed and power.” She paused for a moment, letting the team take in the information. “Unlike Gemini Storm, who attacked schools without discrimination, Epsilon focuses their sights on hidden schools that seem worthy of competition.” Hitomiko brought her hand up to her chin, much like Natsumi as she thought. “If we defeat Epsilon, we may be able to figure out what Aliea Academy really wants. We’ll leave for Manyuuji immediately.”

“Yes ma’am!”

With that, the team filed back onto the bus, and Yoru couldn’t stop himself from thinking about the sickly glow that had enshrouded those from Epsilon so powerfully it could be seen without him using his ability. Just what did it mean?

He wished, not for the first time, that he had someone who he could talk about this with.

“Yukimura, that look is on your face again.” Fubuki said softly, poking Yoru’s cheek and bringing him out of his thoughts.

“Huh? What look?” He asked, looking at Fubuki in confusion, and Someoka piped up from beside him.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Yoru blinked, before laughing nervously. “Oh, I do? Sorry.”

“Does this have to do with Epsilon?” Someoka asked, and Yoru shrugged, not wanting to really talk about it.

“Kind of, but-“

“Hey, don’t worry, Yukimura!” Endou said cheerfully, and Yoru looked over his shoulder at the team’s captain, who was looking at him from over the top of the seats in front of him. “We’ll beat Epsilon! There’s no need to be afraid!”

“That’s not really the problem…”

“Ah, that’s right!” Otonashi added, turning around in her seat as well. “At Hakuren, with Gemini Storm, you were panicking and saying something felt wrong about them. What did you mean?”

Yoru laughed nervously again, pressing back into his seat as he tried to think of a way to try and explain what he saw without sounding crazy. “It’s actually rather difficult to explain? Uh, their presence, and, uh, their aura, I guess? God, saying that makes me sound like a freak- this is stupid, I can’t-“ Yoru cut himself off, groaning in frustration as he leaned forward, tugging at his hair. He was giving away too much, and at the same time he probably _did_ sound crazy to the others. “They-“ Another pause, trying to find the simplest way to describe it. “They felt… messed with.”

“Aura?” Endou asked curiously, as Kidou asked, “Messed with?”

Yoru heaved a heavy sigh, deciding that maybe he should tell them at least a little of what he could see. He just wished it wasn’t so soon. “It’s… like a feeling. It’s oppressing, and like it shouldn’t be there, but it is.” He said simply. “Every time they moved when they were playing soccer, the feeling would intensify. It’s… terrifying.”

He could feel their gazes on him, burning through him as they tried to figure out the enigma he must be to them, and he could feel himself trembling from the intensity. This is why he hates explaining any of it. He just felt like an idiot, especially using the word _aura_. So many people who insisted they could see or feel a person’s aura always seemed ditzy, fake, or over the top. He knew that some out there might have been able to see them, but Yoru had talked to many of them as a child, desperate to know if there were others like him, and each one had been a fake.

It made him feel like an idiot.

“Hm…” Kidou’s voice cut through the oppressive silence in his mind, and Yoru slowly raised his head to look at him. “I think I remember feeling something similar the first time we played against them. You should get used to it eventually- it’s probably just their intensity getting to you.” He explained, and Yoru’s heart twisted painfully. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved that they didn’t realize he was serious about it being wrong instead of just an overwhelming power difference, or disappointed none of them could understand.

“Ah, I see!” Endou said brightly. “Yeah, they feel super strong! It is pretty intimidating but it’s nothing we can’t handle!”

You wanted to say that no, none of them understood- not really, but instead he bit his tongue and gave everyone a smile he hoped looked natural and nodded. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

\-----

That night, he snuck out of the caravan and climbed up the ladder on the side to the top of it, laying down and staring up at the stars. It was quiet, peaceful.

Yoru felt a little less strange, and a little less suffocated.

He knew he shouldn’t hold it against Raimon’s team for not understanding- the only ones who really understood were his family. After all, it was his mom’s side of the family that gave him this ability.

Yet it still left a bitter taste in his mouth to admit that he was either a freak, or overly dramatic to the others.

The sound of someone climbing up the ladder pulled Yoru’s gaze away from the stars, and he smiled when he saw Fubuki. “Hey.” He murmured, the bitterness in his mouth fading away almost instantly. Fubuki was a comfort.

“Hey.” Fubuki returned, climbing the rest of the way onto the roof and sitting down beside Yoru. “You okay?”

Yoru laughed softly, rolling his eyes. “Do I have that look on my face again?”

Fubuki didn’t smile, and he shook his head. “You’ve closed yourself off.” He admitted softly. “Ever since Kidou and Endou said you were probably feeling the power imbalance between an alien and a human.”

“Ah.” Yoru supplied, unsure of what to say from there.

Fubuki looked at him for a while, gray eyes serious as he regarded Yoru. “I don’t think it’s that simple.” He said after a while, and Yoru frowned, sitting up. Fubuki continued before Yoru could ask what he meant. “From what I’ve seen the past year, you… you don’t _freak out_ when you sense a power imbalance. Never that badly, at least.

“You always… always get this look when you analyze a match, like you’re analyzing more than just a person’s movements and a team’s play. Something that only you can see, and you’ve always seemed to know better than the others when I let Atsuya out.” Fubuki frowned, looking Yoru in the eyes. “But it’s never _scared_ you before, and I saw you at halftime. You looked terrified.”

Yoru looked at Fubuki for a while, not bothering to try and move his hair as it fell into his eyes. Fubuki sighed, lightly nudging Yoru’s foot with his own. He smiled gently. “What I’m trying to say is… Atsuya and I believe that it’s not that simple, and you have reason to be scared.”

A tired smile stretched across Yoru’s lips, and he laughed, a soft airy sound that may have been more of a sigh. “Thank you. I… I think I really needed to hear that.”

How could he have forgotten? He may be considered crazy or overdramatic by the others, but at least Fubuki had faith in him.

Fubuki’s smile brightened, and he nudged Yoru again. “Hey, you’re always around for me when I need someone… why shouldn’t I be around for you?”

Yoru laughed again, smiling a bit more happily now. “It’s been a week since we joined Raimon Eleven and we’re already having heart to hearts under the stars. Natsume’s going to have a field day when we get back.”

Fubuki laughed, too. “He is, isn’t he?”

“Get ready for a lot of teasing.” Yoru warned, and the two slipped into comfortable silence as they watched the stars.

\----

A day or so later, and they were in Kyoto, in front of an elaborate school that was hidden in trees and spread out over multiple levels of ground connected with stone stair cases.

The caravan parked by the front of the school, and everyone got out to get started on their search for the soccer club. Yoru could already feel this would take up a good portion of the day, too.

They made their way up the first flight of steps, and the entire group was surprised by what they saw.

The middle of the stone pathway was a giant crater, circled by a wooden fence to keep people from getting hurt by falling in, and everyone around was just going about their day like it was normal. “They seem pretty relaxed, don’t you think?” Endou asked hesitantly, and Yoru shrugged his shoulders, arms crossed loosely over his chest.

“Better to be relaxed than to be panicking, don’t you think?” He said, eyes wandering over to where Fubuki had walked over to some of the girls who were milling about.

“In any case, let’s get looking for the soccer club.” Endou stated, when Fubuki piped up.

“The soccer club is located in a dojo further inside.” He said, smiling at the girls as he thanked them. Yoru stifled a laugh, raising a hand to try and hide the smile as the boys on the soccer team looked at Fubuki in a mix of awe and an almost upset ‘I can’t believe that worked’.

“Laying on the charm already?” Yoru teased when the snow prince joined the group again.

Fubuki smiled innocently, chuckling a bit. “It helped, didn’t it?”

Yoru nodded, laughing. “Very true. Remember when I explained why I called you the Prince of the Snowfield?” Yoru asked as they started making their way further into the school. Fubuki nodded, and Yoru continued. “Well your uncanny ability to turn on the charm to get information is another reason.”

Fubuki looked a little surprised at that, blinking at him for a moment. “Really?” He asked, and Yoru laughed again, nodding.

“Really.”

“Why _are_ you called Prince of the Snowfield?” Kurimatsu asked, and Yoru quickly stepped in to explain.

Yoru brightened almost instantly. “I called him it to retaliate against him nicknaming me Northern Star, and it’s because he’s Hakuren’s ace defender and striker, as well as good at almost every single snow and ice related sport. He may as well be royalty, as far as Hakuren is concerned.” Yoru explained, and Fubuki sighed, nodding in agreement even as he gave Yoru a small, fond smile.

“Only Yoru actively calls me it, though.” Fubuki said softly, “And normally, it comes after I call him Northern Star.”

“Or he’ll call me Northern Star after I call him Prince.”

“…How long have you two known each other?” Touko asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“A year.” Fubuki and Yoru chimed together, before they fell silent as they started looking more seriously for the soccer club’s dojo.

“Ah! There it is!” Endou cheered as they rounded a corner. Yoru's eyes immediately fell to an extremely shiny patch of floor, but before he could say anything Endou and some of the others went running for the dojo. About halfway down the hall, right on the waxed spot, Endou slipped, and those who had gone running did as well, collapsing on top of each other in dog piles and groaning. Yoru winced sympathetically, but it quickly changed to worry as Megane started screaming for Kabeyama to get off him.

Everyone quickly got up at that, and Otonashi, Fubuki, and Yoru went to check on Megane.

“Are you oka-“ Otonashi began, kneeling in front of Megane as he cut her off.

“I am not okay!” He shouted, pointing at his leg, and Otonashi quietly agreed as he continued to shout. “I actually heard it crunch. I heard it crunch!” Megane’s words made Yoru's stomach flip, the sound of crunching bone loud in his ears and his leg throbbing at the thought.

“I-It’s probably fine, Megane.” He said as steadily as he could, smiling and crouching down beside Otonashi to feel along his ankle with shaky hands. “It doesn’t feel broken…. I think it might just be a sprain.”

‘Thank god.’ He thought, not sure what he would have done if he had felt broken bones under swelling skin and torn muscles like he had with his own leg. Probably thrown up, if his rolling stomach was any indication.

“Serves you right! Don’t get cocky just because you’ve won the Football Frontier!” A voice said, catching everyone’s attention and making them look towards the bushes. Yoru immediately noticed the pitfall trap, but he looked to the boy who spoke, holding up a bottle of floor wax and smirking way too proudly.

“How dare you, you little jerk!” Touko growled, running up to the guardrail and leaning over it. The boy ran off and Touko moved to jump over the rail.

Too late, Yoru snapped his thoughts back into focus. “Ah, Touko, wa-“ Yoru winced, words cutting off as she let out a shout of surprise, landing on her back in the pitfall. “Too late…” He murmured, frowning at the kid how was now taunting Touko.

“What’s with that guy?” Kazemaru asked frowning.

“Kogure!” Another voice shouted angrily, and the boy taunting them ran off before the older male got there.

Yoru watched the boy go for a few moments before his gaze trailed to Touko. “What’s going on?” Endou asked, and Yoru watched as Touko pulled herself from the shallow pit, keeping an eye out for any sign of a sprain or worse in her legs. He sighed in relief when she looked like she was alright.

“This is nothing I can’t handle!” Touko said, reassuring the guy who Kogure had run away from. The guy stood, then, placing a fist to his palm and bowing his head to Touko and then the others.

“I sincerely apologize for the outrageous things one of my teammates has done to you.” He said, shocking everyone.

“He’s in the soccer club?!”

“Yes… His name is Kogure, and he’s quite the troublemaker.” The boy said, looking at them a little sadly. “He seems to think everyone around him is the enemy.”

“Enemy?” Aki repeated, and the boy affirmed it before continuing.

“That’s why we thought it’d be better if he re-disciplined his mind first, rather than train, so we made him start his training over again from the very beginning. But no matter how many times we explain ourselves, Kogure decided that we had singled him out to bully him. So this must be his way of getting revenge.”

“He has a pretty twisted personality…” Domon said weakly, clearly a little unsettled along with Ichinose.

“As a fellow soccer player, it’s an embarrassment that such people exist.” Megane said, adjusting his glasses as he had Kabeyama massage his back.

“Oi vey…” Yoru sighed in exasperation, pinching the bridge of his nose. The embarrassing one was Megane.

“But why does he find it so hard to trust others?” Aki asked, and the boy looked down again, debating a few minutes between telling or not.

“Apparently, Kogure was betrayed by his parents when he was young.”

Yoru saw Otonashi raise her head a little, a small gasp escaping her lips. “His parents?” Otonashi asked sadly, and the boy nodded.

“Yes. After that, he lost his ability to trust anyone.” The group fell silent for a few minutes, before the soccer team captain in front of them seemed to realize they were probably looking for them. “Anyway, was there something you wanted?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Touko said, and Coach Hitomiko made her way to the front.

“We heard you received an advanced notice of attack from Aliea Academy.”

“Advance notice?” The guy said, confused, before something must have clicked. “Oh, that.”

For someone about to get attacked by supposed aliens, he was pretty easy going about it. Yoru hummed, crossing his arms lightly over his chest as he studied the boy while “We want to fight together with you.” Endou explained, smiling at the other captain.

“I see. Please follow me then, I’ll take you to the others.”

Kabeyama picked Megane up, and they all walked to the dojo in relative silence.

Somehow, Yoru knew they would be turned down. This school, just by the way they reacted to the large crater at their entrance, did not think too seriously about the consequences or types of… people? Aliens? That made up Aliea Academy. He stayed silent as Manyuuji’s soccer team left the building, but it didn’t stop the clench of worry and annoyance that constricted his chest.

He sighed as they were left alone, running his hand through his hair as he propped his elbow on his knee. “What they don’t realize, is that even if they believe there is no wickedness in their own hearts, Epsilon’s hearts are wicked, and won’t listen to reason.” He said softly, before pushing himself to his feet. “Let’s head back to the caravan… Megane’s foot needs to be bandaged.”

When they got back to the caravan, Yoru went to check on Megane again, still worried that maybe he had been wrong and Megane’s ankle was broken or hurt in some way other than a sprain.

“It’s only a light sprain.” Aki assured as she sprayed Megane’s leg with cold spray, “But I don’t think you can play for a while, though.”

“Yukimura, would you be up to taking his place?” Fubuki asked, and Yoru shrugged.

“If I’m needed, I’ll play.” He stated simply. “That hasn’t changed.”

“Are you okay, by the way?” Aki asked with a worried frown as she finished bandaging Megure’s leg. “You looked like you were going to be sick when he mentioned his foot possibly being broken.”

“I’m okay.” Yoru assured, smiling gently. “I’m just… not good with bone breakages anymore- especially on the legs. Anyway, I’m going to go help Otonashi and Natsumi now.” He left the caravan with a wave, heading over to the travel kitchen where the other managers were getting dinner prepared.


	7. Chapter 6: Epsilon Attacks!

A few days later, and Epsilon made their appearance.

Yoru gulped, uncertain and feeling that suffocating, oppressive air. He was completely unable to avoid the sickly purple glow wrapping around the edges of the team. It just screamed that something was wrong, and for once, he was scared to enhance his senses once the match started. If he could already see some with normal eyesight, what would it look like when he could see everyone’s glow?

“Yoru.” Coach Hitomiko said as Epsilon and Manyuuji got into their positions on the field, and Yoru slowly turned to look at her, apprehensive.

“Yes?”

“We’ll need you on the field if Manyuuji doesn’t win, so find Epsilon’s weak spots now, when you won’t have to focus on playing.” Yoru felt his blood run cold, but he nodded and closed his eyes, taking a steadying breath as he focused on activating that power inside him. He could feel the stares of the rest of the team prickling his skin. When he opened his eyes and everything sharped, bathed in subtle or flaming glows, he had to suppress a full body shiver.

Epsilon’s glows were almost complete engulfed by the sickly purple, only a core color remained pulsing at their centers, weak and losing the fight against the ailment. The suffocating feeling was multiplied, but he pushed through it, trying to act like nothing was wrong. He watched each team member of Epsilon carefully, trying to see past the pulsing sickness and find the patterns and habits of their plays.

Almost as suddenly as the match had begun, however, did it end. Yoru blinked, his vision becoming normal once again. Something felt wrong, this time, though. The edges blurred and he rubbed the heel of his palms into his closed eyes, blinking rapidly after he removed his hands. The blurriness faded, but a ball of fear rooted itself inside him. That wasn’t normal. “So? What’d you see?” Hitomiko asked, and Yoru shook his head.

“There wasn’t much that was helpful. The match was too one-sided, too… too fast.” He explained. “They seal off forwards and push hard during attacks. That’s all I could see.” He frowned, looking at her. “You saw that too, though.”

“Will you be able to find other factors if you are on the field?”

“Wait! We have an eleventh player!” Otonashi said, motioning to Kogure. “Kogure!”

Kogure yelped at the mention of his name, looking just as scared as Yoru felt.

“Kogure?!” A good portion of the team asked, shocked, and Otonashi continued to explain.

“Kogure’s part of the soccer club, too!”

“But he’s on reserve! Will we really be okay with a guy like him on our team?” Someoka asked.

“If all he does is run around, he’ll only be a nuisance.” Domon said, expression concerned. Yoru sighed, rubbing at his golden eye again. His eyes had begun to burn already, like he had been using his ability far longer than he already had.

“He’ll be better than me, I’m sure. Besides, I still need to collect data… although I don’t know how much I’ll be able to get. There doesn’t seem to be a pattern or tell yet, from what I’ve seen.”

“He won’t be a nuisance, either!” Otonashi said confidently, even though Kogure was shaking in fear behind her. “So please!” Endou walked over, studying Kogure for a second before smiling.

“Okay, Otonashi.” He said, shocking the team. “Is that alright, Coach, Yoru?”

“I’ve already given my consent.” Yoru said, Coach Hitomiko following with a sigh and “Do as you wish.”

“Thank you!” Otonashi said, bowing at them before turning to Kogure, who began shaking his head.

“Yukimura.” A soft voice pulled Yoru from the rest of the conversation, and he looked over at Fubuki, who was looking at him worriedly. “Are you okay?”

Yoru gave him a small smile. “I’m okay…. Remember when my eyes would burn if I looked at matches too long?”

“It’s already happening?” Fubuki asked, shocked, and Yoru nodded. “Then you shouldn’t try to use it during our match!”

Yoru laughed softly, shaking his head. “No, no… I’ll be fine. Trust me. You just focus on the game, okay?”

Fubuki frowned, staring at Yoru for a moment before heaving a sigh and giving him a small smile. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I could say the same to you.” Yoru smiled, starting to shoo away Fubuki. “Now shoo, go get ready for the match, and remember to have fun.”

Fubuki chuckled, nodding. “Alright. Seriously though, _don’t_ overwork yourself.” He said, heading over the others to warm up for the match. Yoru sighed, walking over to the bench Megane and the other managers were by. Hsat down, rubbing his eyes one more time before taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, everyone was in position, and he first looked to Kogure.

Kogure’s glow was mischievous. An odd mix of green and pink that didn’t fit his personality and a reddish-orange center that did. He could only guess the green and pink were there for the negative qualities. He was scared, and his glow reflected that even as the colors didn’t. It was subdued compared to the others, their glows bright and curling around their bodies like flames.

As the match began, Yoru pulled his gaze to Epsilon. Immediately they moved and blocked off Someoka and Fubuki, their sickly glows almost cutting away at their colorful ones. He tried to focus elsewhere, on the faces, movements, and voices. The goal keeper- Desarm, if he remembered correctly- had an obsession with times. Six minute win, three minute win, blocking in .21 seconds. Could that be helpful?

As two of Epsilon’s members blocked and returned Ichinose’s shoot, their glows flashed and Yoru winced. It hurt to watch, and it was odd how they flared each time they moved or used an abnormal amount of power. He smiled slightly as Atsuya came out and shot the ball from where it had been blocked.

The smile faded immediately when Eternal Blizzard was stopped, replaced by a stunned expression that mimicked Atsuya’s.

He knew, reasonably, that some day Atsuya would find someone who he couldn’t score against, but the way Desarm’s sickly glow had flared so brightly Yoru had to look away lest he be blinded, was much more than he had ever expected. It was shocking.

He took a heavy breath, and looked to Atsuya to see his half of Fubuki’s glow tint blue and yellow for a split second. His eyes widened. Atsuya was scared?

He winced as Epsilon’s glows pulsed again, whimpering without realizing it and closing his eyes. When he opened them again he was faced with blurred normal vision. The fear in his gut curled even tighter, and he scrubbed at his eyes like it would fix his vision faster, cursing under his breath. This had never happened before. Was it because of Epsilon’s glow?

“Yukimura?” Natsumi asked, and Yoru shook his head. He didn’t want to worry anyone. The next time he opened his eyes his vision was normal again, and he let out a soft sigh.

“I can’t find anything. I can’t- can’t focus well enough.” He mumbled, “This isn’t normal. _They_ aren’t normal. It hurts to look at them too long.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, Yukimura.” Megane said with a frown and a tone that Yoru definitely wasn’t in the mood to hear. “They are alien, but their appearances are the same as ours. That means that your eyes should have no trouble taking in-“

“It’s not their appearances that hurt my eyes. It’s what their movements create.” Yoru flinched as Atsuya was knocked into the air by Desarm’s kick, and he knew that he was getting high-strung because of their difference in power. It was getting dangerous- probably for all of them.

He had to close his eyes again as Desarm’s shoot brought up gusts of wind and dust, shielding his face as he tried to see what was going on. “Kogure! Get down, fast!” He called, although the wind probably carried his voice away before it so much as reached the smaller boy.

Kogure tripped, catching himself on his hands and catching the ball between his legs. It caused him to spin around rapidly, ending the ball’s momentum. When Yoru’s attention returned to the field, he found he could breathe easily again and Epsilon was gone.

“Epsilon disappeared?” Aki asked, and Natsumi look at her stopwatch.

“It’s been three minutes.” She said, and Otonashi praised Kogure’s ability to stop Desarm’s attack.

Yoru stood, looking at the team exhausted and beaten on the field, yet still able to stand and praise Kogure. It made the barest of smiles slip onto his face. Raimon Eleven was strong, he reminded himself. They could handle whatever came their way and still smile afterwards.

He wandered over to Atsuya, who was glaring at where Desarm had been. “Fubuki?” He asked softly, and Atsuya growled.

“I need to be more perfect… I can’t let him block it again.” He snarled to himself, making Yoru's heart ache ever so slightly. He didn't want Fubuki to start obsessing over this and possibly hurt himself.

Yoru placed a hand on his shoulder. “Fubuki, calm down… please.” He kept his voice soft, hoping it’d calm Atsuya enough to think rationally. “You’ll get it next time.”

“And if I don’t? What then?” Atsuya snapped, and Yoru sighed softly.

“Then, you try again. Train, get stronger. Show him you are not to be taken lightly.”

Atsuya frowned, looking at Yoru as he switched back to Shiro. “I wasn’t any help, though.” He said sadly, looking away as even Someoka looked at him.

“Neither was I…” Someoka said quietly, and Fubuki grit his teeth, emotions swirling in his eyes.

“I couldn’t do anything!” He shouted, and Yoru’s heart ached even more for his friend.

“It happens, Fubuki.” Yoru said, “You tried your best- we all did.”

“This isn’t enough. I need to be perfect.” His eyes turned amber for a moment, and Yoru felt a chill run down his spine.

“Atsuya” and “Shiro” were being pulled further apart.

Fubuki’s personal demons were beginning to rear their heads, weren't they? Could Yoru help keep them at bay? 

“You don’t need to be perfect, Fubuki. You just need to have fun.” He murmured, but even though Yoru wanted to help, wanted to prove Fubuki wrong, he knew his words wouldn’t break through to his friend. Not when he was like this.

He just wished they would before it was too late.

\-----

The next day, Yoru barely registered the fact Kogure had snuck himself onto the bus, lost in his own mind.


	8. Chapter 7: Teikoku Academy Revived

Yoru had been feeling off all day. His eyes had stopped stinging some time after the match yesterday, but it didn’t chase away a fog that had settled itself in his mind.

Perhaps that was why he couldn’t really focus on Kogure’s surprise stay or even the team’s discussion about some dude named Kageyama. Instead, he spent most of the time napping, trying to chase away the fog with sleep. It helped, a little bit.

The following days were much easier. He could follow conversations and the world around him without spacing out, so he quickly caught himself back up on whatever the team had been talking about with Kageyama. “What’s his problem against soccer, anyway?” He asked as he stretched in his seat when they were at a rest stop and Fubuki was asking Someoka about him.

“I mean, I know people who don’t like soccer, but never someone who hated it so much they used it for bad things.”

“Does it matter?” Someoka asked. “He’s done unforgivable things, and we need to stop him before he does any more!”

Yoru looked at Someoka for a moment, sighing softly as he thought about his words. “No, I… suppose it doesn’t." He agreed, thinking carefully about his next words. "I was just thinking, wouldn’t it be kind of nice to know why people do the things they do?”

“I don’t want to know anything about him.” Someoka huffed, taking another bite of his onigiri, and Yoru shrugged.

“Fair enough.” He stood up from his seat, leaving the caravan to stretch his legs. The calm idleness surrounding the team faded as the sound of a soccer ball hitting bare skin rang through the air, and Yoru looked over to where Endou had gone. He frowned when he saw a boy with a red tattoo on his head smirk at Endou, spouting something about them being late.

“What’s his deal?” Someoka asked as everyone gathered in front of the bus. Coach Hitomiko made her way to the front, walking over to the boy.

“You’re a student at True Teikoku Academy, aren’t you? Aren’t you the one who’s late? You sent me that fake email and only showed up now.”

“Coach, what do you mean fake email?” Endou asked, a small frown on his face.

“The message from Hibiki that led us here to Ehime was a fake.” Coach explained, placing a hand on her hip. “I’ve already checked it out with him.” She looked back at the student from True Teikoku, “Why did you lie about something that could be so easily disproven?”

“I’m called Fudou Akio.” The boy said cockily, crossing his arms over his chest. “If I’d emailed you with my name you never would have bothered to come all the way here. It’s because I used Hibiki’s name that you went investigating and felt that you should come to Ehime. Am I wrong?”

“This is true.” Coach Hitomiko conceded, “So, what is it you want from us?”

“Oh, I’m just here to invite you guys to True Teikoku Academy.” Fudou said, gaze wandering to Kidou. “You’re Kidou Yuuto, aren’t you? We’ve got a few special guests waiting especially for you.”

“Special guests?”

“Yeah, your old friends from Teikoku Academy.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Yoru noticed Kidou clench his hand into a tight fist, shaking. He looked at Fudou, frowning when he saw no tell of a lie in his posture or actions. He didn’t want to admit it, but Fudou definitely didn’t seem to be lying.

They all got on the caravan again, following Fudou’s instructions to wherever this school was located. Yoru frowned, looking at the back of Fudou’s seat like he could see through to the boy. The sky outside had darkened, clouds threatening to bring rain. He looked outside again, frowning at what he saw.

“This is no area for a school.” He murmured, catching Fubuki’s attention. He looked out the window as well, giving him a subtle nod in agreement.

“Turn into that gate here.” Furukabu did as told, bringing the caravan to a stop alongside the ocean. The team got out, and Yoru looked out over the expanse of the water, looking for some sort of sign a school was there. He let out a shocked gasp as the water swelled, forming a dome before falling away to expose a giant submarine.

He blinked, staring in surprise at the fact _that_ was the school, but he continued to take it in stride. He activated his ability when he noticed a man at the top of the stairs that had appeared, and he gasped at what he saw.

The man’s glow was pure black, tinted at the edges with silver and gold.

A glow flared to life beside Yoru, and he looked to see Kidou’s flaring with anger and determination, a startling red instead of its usual cool gray. A handful of the other team members had red tinting their glows, too. They were angry and determined to defeat Kageyama.

Yoru, blinked, his vision returning to normal- no blurriness this time, thankfully- as he turned his attention back to Kageyama, listening as he went on and on about his plan and some sort of power he had gotten from Aliea.

He frowned as Kidou and Endou went running into the ship after Kageyama, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. “Well… what do we do now that we’re forced to stay here?”

\----

Soon, they were taken onto the ship, and Yoru frowned as they were led to the soccer field. Something in the air felt wrong. It reminded him of Aliea, although it was nowhere near their strength.

“Hey, Kidou…” He said, before Kidou made his way onto the field. “I’m not going to look for anything this time.” He explained, and Kidou hummed in confusion. “Well, you know some of the players, and a good portion of you know how Kageyama works. That should be enough to get you through this match.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” Yoru laughed, smiling. “Kidou, you’re the command tower of Raimon. I’m just here to give advice if I can find it or think you need it.” He laughed again, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he shrugged. “I haven’t done that great a job so far, but that _is_ what I’m here for. I think you are enough to get Raimon through this.”

Kidou stared at Yoru for a moment before he smiled, nodding. “Got it. Oh, and you’ve been doing well, Yukimura. We wouldn’t have figured out Gemini Storm’s attack pattern if you hadn’t mentioned their habits.”

Yoru chuckled, his smile growing a bit wider. “Good luck out there, Kidou. You’ll get your teammates back.”

“Yeah.” Kidou nodded, confident as he turned and went onto the field. Before the game started, he activated his ability again. His breath caught in his throat.

True Teikoku’s glows were tinted with the sickly purple that Aliea’s were drenched in.

“Coach Hitomiko, I need to talk to you privately.” He said, blinking as he turned to face their coach and vision returning to normal. Coach Hitomiko looked at him before nodding, and Yoru went off to the side with her, away from the other managers and Megane.

“What do you know about Aliea Academy?”

She looked at him steadily, and Yoru fought to keep his expression neutral. “You don’t need to know that, Yukimura.”

“Actually, I think we all do. What ‘power’ was Kageyama talking about? Because whatever it is isn’t good. Those ‘aliens’ are completely saturated in it, so much that it’s impossible to breathe around Epsilon and anyone who might be higher than them, and these kids- they’ve been affected by it, too.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said calmly, and Yoru felt his lips curl back in a snarl.

“You’re leading us in blind, Coach Hitomiko, and it isn’t fair.”

“I need to defeat Aliea Academy.” Her lips twitched into a frown, the only sign her composure wasn’t solid. “You guys are already doing your part. You do not need to know anymore.”

“Don’t push them too far.” Yoru said, keeping his voice steady even though he felt anything but. “We are _kids_ , and I know you know about Fubuki’s past. I know you know that he’s fighting his own demons and they have started rearing their heads.” He frowned, motioning to the soccer field. “Everyone on this field is a kid. We aren’t even in _high school_. You can’t expect all of us to be able to handle this well.”

“You have no right to criticize me, Yukimura.” Hitomiko said, voice sharp with warning.

“They are my friends! I have a right to worry about my friends and try to keep them from getting trapped into their own minds just so you can go after some personal vendetta with Aliea!” Yoru snarled, glaring at her.

She reeled back slightly at that, eyes widening and composure cracking only for a moment. The air between them became tense, silent even as the match went on in the background. Hitomiko sighed, flipping a stray chuck of hair over her shoulder. “I will add and remove people as I please, Yukimura. If I need them, I will use them.” She turned, then, and made her way back to the bench. Yoru was left alone off to the side, anger, worry, and fear twisting his stomach into knots.


	9. Chapter 8: A Phantom Returns

The match was intense.

Sakuma and Genda had been determined to defeat Kidou; whatever was clouding and mixing with their glows was messing with their hearts, or maybe even their minds. Yoru wasn’t sure just what was happening in front of him. How could two boys who had been determined to break away like Kidou, just go running straight back? What had changed them so violently with so little effort?

He asked himself this as he watched Kidou fight one on one with Fudou, looking for any sign of something wrong, or leaking that sickly purple glow. Would it even be possible to see without his ability?

As if in answer to his thoughts, a necklace slipped out from under Fudou’s collar, the purple gem bathed and glowing in the sickly color. Yoru fought to hold in a gasp, instead looking over to Hitomiko to see if she noticed or even reacted.

If she had, he was too late to spot it.

“What should we do? We can’t shoot and we can’t let Sakuma get the ball…” He murmured, watching Raimon walk over to where they were.

“It might be better if we were to cancel the match for their sake.” Aki suggested, and the thought sat heavily in Yoru’s chest.

“That wouldn’t help them in the long run, though.” Yoru said softly, looking over to where Genda and Sakuma were standing. “They’d just… keep using them until they finally fall apart.”

“I won’t allow any mid-match cancellations.” Coach Hitomiko said sternly, and the anger coiled in Yoru’s gut made itself known once again. He stamped it down, listening as she told Fubuki to go back to being a forward. He bit his lip, running a hand through his hair and feeling uncertain about this match even as Kidou reaffirmed that they needed to open their eyes now, before it was too late. He knew it was the best option, but everything was against them right now. Maybe they didn't need to score or win, and just try and get them to see just how fun soccer was when you weren't on the verge of killing yourself, but something made Yoru question if it was really going to be that simple.

“Leave it to me.”

Yoru looked to his left, smiling slightly when he saw Atsuya had taken his turn now that Fubuki would be playing forward. “Just watch. I’ll shoot one so fast Genda won’t even have time to use that technique.” He said confidently, his natural smirk taking over Fubuki's features.

Someoka grinned, pointing to himself. “I’ll help out too.”

“It’ll be alright, Kidou. We won’t let Sakuma get the ball.” Ichinose said, placing his hand on Kidou’s shoulder. “I know just how hard it is not to be able to play soccer.”

“Soccer doesn’t choose enemies or allies among those who love it!” Endou said, his tone determined and final as he reassured Kidou that they'd help his old teammates.

Yoru smiled, nodding in agreement. “Everyone wants to keep them from getting hurt, Kidou.” He said softly, “Which is why, if you can get close enough to find and tear off a necklace with a purple gem as a pendant, I recommend doing so. I think… I think that might be why they’ve changed so drastically.”

“Wait, you mean like the one Fudou-“

“The very same.”

Kidou nodded, frowning for a moment. “We’ll try to look for them.” He said, and a few minutes later, everyone was heading back onto the pitch,

“Fubuki.” Yoru said, catching Atsuya before he could go to his position. “I want you to be careful, alright?”

“Got it.” Atsuya smiled, although it came off more like a smirk, “Too bad you won’t be out there- we could use Avalanche.”

Yoru laughed softly, shaking his head. “As much as I would love to use Avalanche with you, I’m afraid I’d rather not see anyone so injured they can’t play again.” Atsuya’s smile disappeared as his golden eyes studied Yoru, as if surprised by his words.

“You…”

“Fubuki! Come on, it’s almost time!” Endou called, and Atsuya jumped.

“Ah, right!” Atsuya looked at Yoru once more before jogging over to his place, and the second half started.

Almost immediately, Atsuya got a hold of the ball, charging towards the goal. Fudou tried to steal the ball from him, but Atsuya just pushed through, although the ball got away from him. Someoka grabbed the loose ball before True Teikoku could and ran up the pitch, dribbling the ball in front of him until he was blocked by defense. He passed it to Atsuya with the help of Wyvern Crash, and Atsuya added the extra power of Eternal Blizzard, shooting it into the goal so fast Genda had no time to react. Yoru let out a happy cheer for them, clapping and feeling the unease in his chest slip away a little. At least Atsuya was still shooting the best he could after Epsilon.

The excitement Raimon felt shattered almost immediately as the next play resulted in Fudou attempting to break Someoka’s leg. Yoru shuddered as Someoka let out a pained sound- not quite a scream but loud enough to echo ever so slightly in Yoru’s ears. Someoka dropped to the ground, and without even thinking about it he ran onto the field with Aki to help.

“That was on purpose just now, wasn’t it?! You bastard…” Atsuya snapped, pulling an arm back to punch Fudou.

“Fubuki, don’t!” Yoru gasped, grabbing Atsuya's wrist to keep him from punching the other boy.

At the same time as Yoru's words, Someoka said, “Stop.”

“If you hit him, you’ll be removed from the game!” Someoka continued. Atsuya snarled, still angry and on edge as Yoru released his grip on Atsuya's wrist and placed his hand on Atsuya’s shoulder, shaking his head.

“He’s not worth it.” Yoru commented, although he glared at Fudou all the same. Fudou smirked, huffing slightly as he turned away from the others. “Although perhaps I can punch him later in your place.” He growled, his grip tightening on Atsuya’s shoulder as Fudou walked away.

Aki knelt down next to Someoka, starting to check his injury. “…You won’t be able to play for the rest of the game.” She commented sadly, feeling carefully along Someoka’s leg. Yoru felt shivers run down his spine, eyes locking onto his teammate's ankle as his own leg throbbed with phantom pain.

“Switch in, Megane!” Endou called from his place by the goal. Megane replied that his ankle still hadn’t healed.

“I can do it.” Yoru said softly, dragging his gaze away from Someoka. “I can take his place.”

“Don’t switch me out.” Someoka huffed, standing to his feet and wincing from his weight on his injured leg.

 _“No, no! I can still play coach, honest!” Pain flared in his leg as he tried to stand, biting his tongue hard enough to bleed in a desperate attempted to hold back a scream-_ Yoru dug his nails into his palm, trying to suppress a shudder.

“That should be fine. I just have to play his share of the game, right?” Atsuya asked, and Yoru had to keep himself from screaming that no, no it was _not_ fine. It wasn't fine by a long shot.

Slowly and as subtly as he could, Yoru exhaled through his teeth, trying to keep his voice level as he spoke. “Someoka, how bad does it hurt?” He asked quietly, a shake in his voice now that anger at Fudou had drained and been replaced with a cold undercurrent of fear and remembrance.

“Huh?” Atsuya’s grin disappeared and both he and Someoka looked at Yoru in confusion.

“How bad does it hurt?” Yoru repeated, voice firmer and louder this time, “On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest.”

“It doesn’t hurt that bad-“

“ _Answer_. The. Question.” Yoru snapped, shocking everyone- even Atsuya. “If it hurts anywhere beyond a five, you are staying _out_ of the game.”

Someoka growled standing to his feet and getting in Yoru's face. “What? What makes you think you have the right to tell me I can’t play?!”

Yoru stared at a spot just back Someoka's shoulder, not sure what would happen if he were to meet Someoka's eyes with his heart pounding as fast as it was in his chest, flashes of memories zooming across his mind and echoing around so much they nearly made him feel sick. “I refuse to let someone injured stay on the field-“

“You don’t get to tell us what to do!”

“DOES your leg hurt more than a five?” Yoru asked, gaze snapping to Someoka's eyes and voice raised to be heard over his shouts. He wasn't going to argue with him; not about this.

They stared at each other, neither backing down. Yoru’s hands were shaking, nails digging so hard the crescent marks were starting to warm and he idly wondered if he was making them bleed. Finally, Someoka sighed, looking away and grumbling a meager “4.”

Yoru continued to stare. He knew Someoka was lying- his expression did not convey a level 4 pain. He knew it didn’t. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to do what his own coach had done and make Someoka sit out. He knew what Someoka was doing, saw his own self trying to convince his coach to keep him on the soccer team in his early recovery, and it hurt.

It hurt, because he knew Someoka had won.

Yoru swallowed around the lump in his throat, exhaling slowly, and he looked down at the ground.

“Fine. You can stay in.” He muttered, turning away to go back to the benches.

“Wait, Yukimura,” A hand grabbed his wrist, and Yoru turned to see Atsuya studying at him with worried eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked, and Yoru looked away.

No, he wasn’t okay. He was panicking, deep down in his very bones, as his leg flared with phantom pain and he forced himself not to drag Someoka kicking and screaming off the pitch.

“I’m… I’m okay,” He lied, giving Atsuya what he hoped was a comforting smile. “Just a little out of it.”

The look Atsuya gave him said that he clearly didn’t believe him. Yoru sighed, shaking his head. “Just focus on the match, okay?”

“We’ll talk about this later, Yukimura.” Atsuya warned, before letting Yoru go so he could head back to the bench.

The rest of the game passed in a blur that filled Yoru’s head with screams of pain, flashes of broken bones, a leg bending the wrong _way, nausea, blood, pain_ -

He doesn’t remember getting into a lifeboat, but apparently he had been aware enough for the others not to question his silence. Fubuki watched him from where he sat beside him, and Yoru found he couldn’t meet his eyes.


	10. Chapter 9: Monster In My Head

_Yoru stood alone on the soccer field, ball in his hands as he looked at the goal so far away. He took a deep breath. He could do this._

_He dropped the ball, kicking it out ahead of him and running to catch up to it. He started dribbling the ball, running up to the goal and feeling no burn in his leg._

_A giant black wall formed in front of him, halting his movements and making him crane his head back. Fear washed over him, and he tried to take a step back but his leg crumbled as a shattering_ CRUNCH! _Tore through the air. Yoru scream as pain flared up his leg, blood running down it and staining the grass beneath him red. He fell down, another scream tearing through him as his ankle twisted and tendons snapped like someone had jerked his foot in a complete 180. The menacing black wall turned red and morphed into a wave that bore down on Yoru, swallowing him whole as he screamed._

Yoru clapped a hand over his mouth as he shot up, sleeping bag falling away back onto his seat as he fought back nausea and narrowly won. He panted into his hand, the air and quiet of the caravan too stifling, too hot as his leg throbbed and his heart raced. The nausea was quickly rising up again, and he hurriedly snuck out, running the moment his feet touched the parking lot ground. He darted for the bathroom, not even bothering to close the stall door as he emptied any contents in his stomach into the toilet.

He coughed, gagging and shaking as his body broke out into a cold sweat and his leg _burned_ and he was 90 percent sure he was crying-

_Blood everywhere, bone tainted brownish-red against pale skin, his foot should not be turned that way, it hurts it hurts IT HURTS-_

He felt a second- third? - wave of bile rise in his throat, and he heaved until not even stomach acid came up and his entire body hurt from the action.

“…Yukimura?” Yoru could barely register the voice, but when he did he almost wanted to start crying again. He hadn’t had an episode this bad since he lived in Okinawa, and Fubuki Shirou was the last person he wanted to have seen him like this.

“Go away, Fubuki.” He croaked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and wanting to just slump against the toilet and stay there for a while. Instead he reached up and flushed the toilet before fitting himself in the just-large-enough-space between the stall’s wall and the toilet; resting his head against the cold tile of the wall and staring blankly up at the ceiling, uncaring of the unseen filth and grime that probably resided there. He felt drained, empty and just… there.

A shadow- when did the lights get turned on?- covered him, and he dragged his eyes from the ceiling to the person standing over him.

“Yukimura,” Fubuki’s voice was soft, caring as he knelt down in front of Yoru’s feet once Yoru was looking at him. “You shouldn’t stay there.”

“I don’t care.” Yoru said, voice sounding pitiful even to his own ears. Fubuki frowned, eyes saddened and worried as he grabbed Yoru’s wrist and pulled him to his feet. Yoru walked beside him numbly as he was pulled to the sinks.

“Stay there.” Fubuki ordered, and Yoru barely had it in him to roll his eyes. He had wanted to stay on the dirty old floor of a public restroom right next to the toilet, and Fubuki was worried he would move away from the sink?

Fubuki left the restroom and Yoru sunk back to the ground, taking a shaky breath as he tried to ignore the searing, throbbing pain in his bad leg. He shivered in the cold night air, fighting back another onslaught of tears as his brain made him realize he had just had a minor, maybe major, panic attack in a _public restroom_ and in front of Fubuki. How much of an idiot could he be?

Fubuki came back in quickly enough, Yoru’s travel bag in his hands. Fubuki sighed softly when he saw Yoru on the ground, gently taking him by the elbow and pulling him back up.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He mumbled, and Yoru felt way too much like a child and too exhausted to actually keep himself from crying. This was _humiliating._

Fubuki paused as he grabbed some paper towels, looking at Yoru from the mirror with a shocked expression. It morphed into one of sympathy soon after, and he went back to wetting the paper towel and taking Yoru’s hand in his own, wiping away at where Yoru had wiped the back of his mouth.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Fubuki asked, and Yoru so badly wanted to snap at Fubuki; yell at him to just leave him alone because being caught throwing up at some ungodly hour in the morning and being treated like a child after it was already bad enough, but all he found the energy for was to shake his head.

“…You know, Natsume told me you could have pretty bad attacks sometimes.” He said softly, looking up at Yoru through his eyelashes. “Said the nightmares could get pretty gruesome, too.” He tossed the paper towel he had wiped Yoru’s hand with into the trash, wetting another one and handing it to Yoru. “Wipe and rinse your mouth, then brush your teeth, okay?”

“I feel like a child.” Yoru mumbled bitterly, but did as asked, brushing his teeth after rinsing out his mouth. He put his stuff away when he was done and went outside with Fubuki, forcing himself to walk the whole way instead of just give up and sit on the ground crying until the pain in his leg was gone. Being outside the bathroom in the cold, fresh air did nothing to make Yoru feel better. He looked at the Inazuma Caravan, innocently parked in one of the many parking spaces, surrounded only by vast emptiness and grids of white lines; it felt like it was miles away.

Yoru let out a distressed whine, uncaring that Fubuki was there and seeing an even more pitiful side of him, and dropped his bag to the ground, curling up into a tight ball and fighting back another onslaught of tears. The caravan was so far away, his leg hurt, and he felt like he couldn’t walk; he just wanted to lay down and not move for who knows how long.

“Damn it…” He croaked, scrubbing at his eyes and trying to keep tears away. “Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

“Yukimura…” A warm hand on his shoulder, grounding Yoru ever so slightly and making him lift his head. “It’s okay… We can just stay here if you want.”

Yoru nodded, and he felt Fubuki sit beside him, hand moving from his shoulder to his elbow and giving it a comforting squeeze before dropping entirely. They fell into silence, and the emptiness that settled in Yoru’s chest turned into a heavy feeling of exhaustion as the sky lightened ever so slightly, signaling that the sun was on its way to wake the world.

Eventually, Yoru found himself on his back on the concrete ground, staring up at the fading stars in the sky as Fubuki sat against the large wall dividing the men and women’s bathrooms, Yoru’s feet stretched out in front of him. They were quiet, and Yoru was fairly sure he had lost feeling in his bad leg at this point, but he couldn’t bring himself to check.

He was tired, and yet he couldn’t fall asleep.

“…Does your leg hurt?” Fubuki asked, voice like the wind as it cut through the silence, and Yoru turned his head to look at him. Fubuki glanced at him before motioning with a small tilt of his head to Yoru’s bad leg, and Yoru continued to look at him for a moment before his gaze returned to the sky.

“…. I can’t feel it.” He murmured, voice raspy and almost dead-sounding. “I haven’t been able to feel it in over an hour.”

He could feel the disproving frown Fubuki was giving him, and he flinched as hands touched his leg. “Relax, I think I know a way to help.” Fubuki explained, and before Yoru could ask what he meant, Fubuki’s hands were gently pressing into his skin, massaging and rubbing along his scar. Yoru’s breath hitched, body tensing in surprise before he relaxed as the motions did in fact help.

He let out a small groan, a laugh bubbling its way out of his throat. “I had no idea that would help, much less that _you_ know how to do it.”

Fubuki laughed, smiling. “I picked it up when we were figuring out how to do Eternal Blizzard.” He explained, “Atsuya would overwork our body sometimes, and my leg would hurt so I just started massaging it to see if it helped.”

“Clearly, it did.” Yoru laughed softly, hiding his face in his hands. “My god, I can’t figure out if this is embarrassing or not.”

Fubuki let out another laugh of his own. “So it’s helping?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Good.”

Yoru laughed again, the heavy, dead weight on his chest finally disappearing and leaving Yoru feeling like himself again.

Fubuki smiled brightly, and after a few minutes he stopped massaging Yoru’s leg. “Do you feel better now?”

“Much better.” Yoru said, smiling at Fubuki. “I’m sorry you have to deal with me like this.”

Fubuki laughed softly, patting Yoru’s leg. “Please, Yukimura. You’ve helped me through bad times, it’s the least I can do.”

“Yeah, but this has just been…” Yoru sighed, trailing off as he tried to find a word good enough to describe the past two or three hours. “Awful.”

Fubuki shrugged. “Everyone has bad days.” He said softly, smiling at Yoru. “Even you.”

“I wish you hadn’t seen me.” Yoru admitted, sighing as he finally made himself sit up. “The ones where I can’t hold anything down are always the worst, and it’s a really sore spot, y’know?”

Fubuki nodded, and Yoru continued. “They always leave me feeling drained and like everything in the world is against me, and my leg always feels like it wants to be sawed off just so the constant pain would end until the sensation destroyed any feeling I have in it. It’s… It’s weird. Uncomfortable.” Yoru sighed again, pulling his legs towards his body as he sat with them crossed in front of him. “I don’t like when people see me like that. It makes me feel like I had lost any progress I had made, or that I’ll suddenly be pitied and taken off the team permanently; no reserve, no dire situation, and no practice allowed.”

“…I wouldn’t do that.” Fubuki said softly, and Yoru smiled weakly at him.

“I know. But I also don’t want to make you, or anyone else, worry over me. I… I don’t want you to feel like I’m fragile; _especially_ considering I cried three times in front of you in the span of half an hour.” He paused again, looking up at the sky and sighing heavily.

“You… you were different, though. You didn’t force me to do anything except get off the grimy floor, rinse out my mouth, and brush my teeth. You didn’t force me to go back to the caravan when I was on the verge of another attack at just the thought of walking back there. You didn’t force me to talk, and just left me be as I tried to get through it until you noticed I was a little bit more myself.” Yoru laughed weakly. “Even my parents would force me back to bed and try to get me to talk about it when I lived in Okinawa.”

“They meant well.”

“I know. But it didn’t help me feel better.”

Fubuki nodded, smiling. “Do you want to go back and try to get a few more hours of sleep?” He asked after another bought of silence. Yoru hummed, sighing and watching as more stars faded away.

“I want to stay here a bit longer, actually. You can go back, if you want.” He said, although he didn’t really want to lose the warm, comforting presence beside him.

Fubuki hummed, but made no move to get up. “I think I’ll stay here, too.” He said, and Yoru tried not to let relief show on his expression.

“Suit yourself.” He hummed, looking over to the caravan. Once more, they fell into silence.

“Hey, Fubuki?”

“Yeah?”

“Someoka… he’s not going to give up on making us believe he’s okay, but he’s not.” Yoru murmured, looking down. “His leg is really hurt, and as much as I don’t want to see him end up like me, he’s not going to give up until an adult tell him no.” Yoru fell silent again. “Please, humor him for a bit…”

The words tasted foul on his tongue as he quietly spoke them, trying not to spit out the words like he wanted. Fubuki frowned, but he nodded and leaned back against the wall.

“Okay. Sorry he snapped at you earlier, by the way.”

Yoru laughed weakly, waving away his comment. “Don’t apologize, he’s right. I’m not captain or coach; I’m just another kid on the team’s reserve. Technically, I have no sway.”

“You were planning on replacing him if he had told the truth, though.”

Yoru scoffed, laughing again as he smiled. “I had been thinking of dragging off the pitch kicking and screaming.”

Fubuki hummed, chuckling. “Why didn’t you?”

“He was going to kill me if I did, and I… I just couldn’t say no to him.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I had to let him stay on.”

Fubuki nodded, patting Yoru’s shoulder. “I’ll humor him, if you think that’s what’s best.”

\----

Two hours later, and the caravan was coming back to life as the first of the team left inside began to wake up. The girls were the first ones awake, Natsumi and Otonashi heading to the back of the caravan to get the kitchen prepped for breakfast. Aki looked around, and when she looked over in Yoru and Fubuki’s direction, she ran over.

“There you are! What are you two doing up so early?”

Fubuki smiled, shrugging lightly. “We just wanted to enjoy the morning sunrise.” He lied easily, and Yoru nodded.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a sunrise so far away from Hokkaido, and Fubuki never has.”

“Mmm no I’ve seen one before. It was when I was little, though.” Fubuki laughed, and Yoru hummed.

“Ah, my mistake.” He pushed himself off the ground, standing on his feet. “Anyway, would you girls like some help making breakfast?”

“Oh, we can do it ourselves, you don’t have to.” Aki said with a smile, waving away his question, and Yoru laughed softly.

“I wouldn’t mind helping out again.”

“I wouldn’t mind, either.” Fubuki said, standing beside him. “Besides, it’ll give us something to do.”

Yoru nodded, and Aki sighed, smiling at them. “Alright, you guys can help.”


	11. Chapter 10: Avalanche

“There it is, everyone!” Furukabu exclaimed as they continued towards Inazuma Town. Yoru looked out the window, humming when he saw the tower that stood proudly above the town. In the caravan around him, those from the town started to get emotional, excited to be home after so long.

“I wonder if we’ll be like that when we go back to Hokkaido.” Yoru mused, smiling as he looked around the caravan. The smile fell, however, when he looked past Fubuki and saw Someoka holding his leg.

“Someoka,” He said softly, “You should go to the hospital.”

“This will heal in two or three days. That’s plenty of time to recover for the match.” Someoka assured confidently, and Yoru had to bite his tongue to keep himself from disagreeing. He wasn't a coach or trainer, he wasn't even a regular player; if he said something, nothing good would come of it.

When they got to Raimon Junior High, Yoru let out a low whistle at all the reconstruction that was going on. “Whoa. So, like, do you guys still have classes or is it all just sent by email now?” He asked curiously, although considering how everyone on the caravan had been doing homework by email and textbook since they were traveling, he supposed they wouldn’t know.

Natsumi met up with her dad again as the rest of the team got off the bus, and her father congratulated the team before requesting that they rest for a little bit before they start training again.

Soon enough, though, everyone was gathering at the river bank with Shadow and Sugimori to train and practice. Yoru stayed off to the side, watching Someoka and Atsuya perfect Wyvern Blizzard and cringing every time Someoka’s leg connected with the ball.

He jumped as the sound of Endou’s voice rang out over the area in a greeting; turning to see him and Aki coming down the steps.

“Hey, Endou!” Atsuya cheered happily, “Watch this! Someoka, one more time!” He called, smile flickering away for only a moment when he saw Someoka panting and trying not to show he was in pain. Atsuya looked over at Yoru, who shrugged helplessly. Should he keep letting Someoka do this? Was it even worth it?

Atsuya pulled the perfect grin onto his face and placed a hand on his hip. “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Tired yourself out already?” He asked, and Yoru quickly realized he was trying to act like he didn’t realize what was going on while trying to get Someoka to admit that his leg was hurting.

“Don’t be dumb.” Someoka grunted, smiling confidently at Atsuya. “Of course not.” He looked to Endou, “Endou! The two of us are the perfect combination now!”

Yoru bit his lip as Atsuya nearly lit up as he agreed that they were perfect, before running to get into position. He should stop them. He should keep Someoka from kicking the ball anymore before his leg became irreversibly wrecked.

“Is it my imagination or is everyone in good condition?” Megane asked, and as Aki agreed with him Yoru gripped his arm tightly.

“Did you forget that Someoka’s leg is hurt?” He mumbled. “He shouldn’t be playing- he shouldn’t be doing this!”

“Why are you so wound up about that?” Megane asked with a frown. “His leg is getting better, right? He wouldn’t be crazy enough to keep going if-“

“That’s exactly what’s he’s doing!” Yoru hissed, and as if right on cue, Someoka collapsed, grabbing his leg. Yoru cursed under his breath and ran over to him, exchanging a glance with Atsuya. They should have stopped him earlier.

Yoru felt like he was going to be sick.

He helped Endou get Someoka to the bench, frowning at him when he was settled while Endou knelt down to check his leg.

“Someoka, you…”

“Come on, guys, what’s with all the fuss?” Someoka said, grinning and trying to stand again. He didn’t even make it two inches off the bench before he collapsed again.

“Don’t strain yourself!”

“I’m not.”

Yoru saw him moving to get up again, and he nearly slammed his hand down onto Someoka’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly. “You are, and don’t you dare deny it.” He hissed, angry and scared and knowing he was treading on thin ground. “You shouldn’t have been practicing at all today.”

“Stop acting like you know what’s going on!” Someoka growled, shoving Yoru’s hand off his shoulder and standing up as if to prove his point. “See? I’m fine!”

“No, you’re not!”

“Don’t be a fool!” Furukabu snapped, catching everyone’s attention. The older man was glaring at Someoka, and Yoru was fairly sure it was directed at him, too, but that may have just been his imagination.

Furukabu made Someoka sit down again, pulling down his sock. Yoru felt his skin crawl at the swollen and red skin, but he didn’t look away. He could handle a swollen calf or ankle, couldn’t he? “Look how swollen it is. You didn’t take proper care of it after the game with True Teikoku, did you?”

“I swear, I’m fine.”

“Stop saying that!” Yoru snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and digging his nails into his arms. “You are not and have not been okay since Fudou played that foul! Do you _want_ to destroy your leg?!”

“Yukimura, you need to calm down.” Touko said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, “It sucks that he didn’t tell us, but you don’t need to yell at him.” Yoru felt his hackles rise, a retort stuck on the tip of his tongue as he bit it down.

“The match with Epsilon is in one week. Will Someoka recover by then?” Kidou asked.

“One week isn’t enough for an injury like this!” Furukabu said sternly, frowning at Someoka.

“It will heal!” Someoka shouted, and Yoru found so badly that he wanted to punch him for being so infuriatingly ignorant and stubborn. “I’ll get this thing healed up within a week! Even if it doesn’t, at least let me fight in the first half against Epsilon!”

Yoru felt the last frayed thread of his patience snap.

“That’s not how it works, you idiot!” Yoru shouted, stunning everyone. “Your will power isn’t going to do a damn thing to heal that and if you force it even further who knows what’s going to happen!” He jabbed a finger at Someoka’s chest. “You’ll only make it worse, and what are you going to do if something breaks? You’ll be no help to anyone then!”

“Someoka,” Coach Hitomiko’s voice cut through, and they all looked to her as she walked over. “I’m taking you off the team.”

“Coach?” Endou asked, disbelief in his voice, “No way. Someoka is-“

“Someoka himself says he’ll fight!” Kazemaru jumped in, “Where’s the harm in letting him?!”

“What’s the harm?” Yoru repeated dumbly under his breath as Kazemaru continued.

“What we need most right now are the guts to do whatever it takes to win, no matter what pain our bodies go through!”

Yoru let out a disbelieving laugh. “’What’s the harm?’ You say. I can tell you what the _fucking_ harm is!” He snapped, and Kazemaru whipped his head around to look at him, everyone’s eyes wide in disbelief. “The harm is that he could lose the ability to play if he keeps going with his leg like that! You do _not_ get better by forcing your body to keep going when it keeps protesting you to stop. You do not fight on broken bones without there being blood on every surface and your muscles being torn away from the shards, you do not push yourself past the limits just to end up unable to do it ever again, and you do _not_ tell your friends to do that very thing!”

“What do you know?!” Someoka shouted, and Furukabu had to keep him sitting down. “You’ve been determined to keep me off the pitch since I got injured and you keep acting like you’re allowed to just boss us around! I bet you just want to be on the pitch again!”

Yoru felt his blood boil just underneath the skin, _echoes of angry and pleading shouts, the never-ending replay of the crunch of his bones; the searing pain as they broke through his skin, tore away at his muscles and tendons with every agonizing snap_ -

The fight in his body was washed away with ice-cold horror freezing his veins.

“Yeah, _that’s_ it.” He said coldly, the skin around his knuckles pulled taut as he dug his nails into his palms. The group had turned so quiet you could hear a pin drop. “ _That’s_ what I want.”

Was there a laugh bubbling up his throat? He wasn’t entire sure.

“The guy with the permanent leg injury just wants to eliminate competition for the spot on the field. That’s _exactly_ what’s going on.” Yoru could tell he was definitely slipping into hysterics as his tone became mocking, “He’s not _worried_ that you could end up like him, oh no. _No_ , he just wants to play in a match again. Steal some spotlight as one of the kids who beat the aliens. He’s not looking out for the other players’ wellbeing _at all_.”

“Yukimura…”

Yoru had no idea who had spoken, though it was probably Fubuki, and he didn’t wait to stay around and figure it out. He turned, shoving his way through the group, walking a few steps before breaking into a run and heading up river. He needed to cool his head, maybe even quietly have a panic attack if the way his heart was racing was an indication, and he didn’t want to be around the others for either option.

He ran until he was sure he was out of sight and no one was running after him just yet. He took off his jersey and tossed it to the ground, his phone landing on it lightly a moment after, and Yoru pulled his feet from his shoes without untying them. He set his shoes by his jacket and walked to the edge of the river bank before wading out until he was about waist deep in the water.

What better way to cool off his head than by dunking it under water, right?

He sat down in the water and splashed his face a few times to keep any tendrils of panic trying to bubble their way up to the surface down, and when he was certain he wasn’t going to succumb to panic, he dunked his head under the water.

He kept it there for a few minutes, feeling the water rush past and his hair tickle his face. It actually did help calm him down a lot faster than he thought it would. He lifted his head, taking a deep breath and shaking his head like a dog.

“Are you calm again?”

Yoru blinked, looking over his shoulder. Fubuki stood beside his things, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrow raised. His hair was spiky and eyes sharp. Atsuya, then.

Yoru sighed, laughing weakly. “Are you going to scold me?” He taunted dryly, and he could almost _hear_ Atsuya roll his eyes. He looked away again, grabbing a string of algae and pulling it apart with his fingers under the water. “… I screwed up, didn’t I? Coach probably kicked me off the team, too.”

Atsuya sighed, and Yoru could hear him coming closer. “Come on, out of the water.” Yoru jumped as a hand grabbed his arm and lifted it. He looked up, eyes widening when he saw Atsuya had waded in as well. Atsuya gave his arm a tug, and Yoru carefully stood before following Atsuya back onto the riverbank.

“She didn’t take you off the team, and everyone feels bad.”

“Oh great, pity.” Yoru spat, and Atsuya flicked Yoru’s forehead. “Ow! What was that for!?” He whined, rubbing where Atsuya had flicked and pouting at him.

“They don’t pity you, and I thought you cooled off.” Atsuya said, frowning at Yoru.

“What, I don’t have the right to be bitter?” Yoru grumbled, flopping down onto the ground and staring at the sky. “You and Shiro both know I hate pity.”

Atsuya sighed, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his hands. “Yeah, we do. But you need to realize that Someoka was way out of line, and that feeling bad about it is only going to be natural.” Yoru groaned, scrubbing his face with his hands.

“I know.”

“Then what’s got you so worked up still?” Atsuya asked, lightly nudging Yoru’s leg with his foot.

“It’s- It’s the _looks_. I’ll go back, and they’ll be giving me those stupid looks that insist I’m fragile and need to be tread around carefully and- and they’ll try to apologize and-“ Yoru groaned before shouting at the sky, “ I just don’t want any of it!”

Atsuya nodded, falling silent for a few minutes. “...Is that why you don’t like talking about it?” He asked, voice unnaturally soft. “When you see someone get hurt, or you and Someoka got into an argument… you get this look in your eyes, like you’re back at your accident and drowning in it all over again.” Atsuya looked at Yoru, frowning and eyes worried. “You look haunted, just like Shiro does whenever he hears an avalanche or thunderstorm.”

Yoru sighed softly, rolling onto his side and looking at Atsuya. “I talked about it with a therapist for over a year.” He admitted, and Atsuya’s frown only deepened. “It doesn’t stop the fear from taking over, or the memories from flooding back every time I see a leg injury or hear someone talk about it. I don’t talk about it because I don’t want to be treated like glass, and describing what actually happens make me remember and honestly all of it makes me feel like throwing up.”

Atsuya sighed softly, looking up at the sky as well. “I’m sorry that happens to you.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Yoru chuckled. “It’s natural, now.”

“That’s still not good.” Atsuya frowned again, looking at Yoru. “…I wish I could offer you words of comfort, but I’m not good with them like Shiro is.”

Yoru laughed, reaching over and patting Atsuya’s leg. “You’re doing pretty good, Atsuya, don’t worry.”

Atsuya’s eyes widened; his cheeks turning light pink before he quickly looked away, mumbling something Yoru couldn’t decipher under his breath.

Yoru could only laugh softly and pat his leg one more time before lifting his legs into the air and swinging them down quickly. He used the force to rock himself back into a sitting position before he stood up, sighing softly. “Alright, let’s head back. You have to keep training!”

“Oh, right!” Atsuya stood up quickly, grin returning to its rightful place. “You need to train, too! Let’s show ‘em Avalanche!” He shouted, excitement bubbling up into his posture and words. “They’ll be so impressed!”

Yoru laughed as he pulled on his shoes, nodding in agreement with the younger boy. “I’m sure they will.” He said with a smile as he grabbed his phone and jacket. “Now come on, let’s get- whoa!”

Atsuya darted past, grabbing Yoru’s hand as he did and pulling him along. Yoru laughed, stumbling a few times as he regained his footing before quickly running alongside him. “Here’s hoping we’ve still got it down to perfection!” He teased, and Atsuya laughed.

“I know we do!”

Soon enough, they were able to see the group again, and Atsuya finally stopped running, a thoughtful look on his face. “You don’t want the air to get awkward, right?” He asked, looking at Yoru as he let go of his hand. Yoru nodded, panting faintly. It had been a long time since he had properly sprinted for more than a few seconds, and sadly, it showed. Atsuya’s grin returned once more, and he bounced lightly on his feet. “I have an idea! Let’s show up while performing Avalanche!”

“Sounds good to me!” Yoru grinned, laughing softly. “When should we steal the ball?”

Atsuya hummed, tapping a finger on his chin as he genuinely thought about it. “How about when Kogure knocks a ball into the air with his Seppujin?”

“Oh, he perfected that?” Yoru asked, pleasantly surprised, before he grinned. “Sounds like a great idea!”

“Great!” Atsuya let out a whoop of excitement, and Yoru activated his ability to be able to time their entrance just right from where they stood.

“Ready, Fubuki?”

“Mhm!” Fubuki said happily, and Yoru darted forward as Kogure flipped onto his hands.

“Now!” Yoru called, and Fubuki used Ice Ground, creating a long path of jagged ice that Yoru hopped onto, positioning himself like he was snowboarding as Kogure was momentarily frozen and he came sliding past. Yoru used his own wind to pick up his speed, moving faster than the wind as he stole the ball and left freezing, dark fog in his wake. He slipped down, catching himself on his hands and swinging his legs and the ball into the air as dark fog formed around it. He grinned as Atsuya appeared in the air; he kicked the ball towards him before fully bringing his legs over his head to land on the ground, digging his fingers and cleats into the ice to slow his movements as Atsuya encased the ball with ice and shot it towards the goal.

An inhuman shriek filled the air, a blue and ice-covered skeletal figure trailing the ball as it shot past an unsuspecting Endou and into the goal. The pitch was stunned into silence as they took in what just happened, while Yoru stood up and let out a satisfied sigh and Atsuya let out another whoop of excitement.

“I knew it was still perfect!” Atsuya cheered.

“….What was that?” Domon asked softly, and just like that, the stunned silence turned into overwhelming awe and surprise.

“That was awesome!” Endou cheered, jumping and punching the air as he grinned at Yoru and Atsuya.

“What on earth was that shoot?” Kidou asked, and Yoru laughed, placing a hand on his hip as Atsuya changed back to Shirou.

“That shoot is a combination technique Fubuki and I developed at Hakuren called Avalanche.” He explained. “We took the best of our abilities and merged them to form something fun, fast, and unbeatable.” He paused then, frowning slightly as he thought about Epsilon. “Well, hopefully unbeatable, anyway.”

Endou let out another cheer. “Can you shoot it again?! I want to see if I can catch it!”

Yoru laughed, nodding. “I don’t see why not. Fubuki, think we can go again?”

Fubuki nodded, and they shot it again for Endou. It broke through his God Hand with ease, and Endou stared at his hands when it was done. “Whoa… There’s so much power and speed behind it!”

“It can be our replacement for Wyvern Blizzard while Someoka is recovering.” Yoru said happily, looking over to Someoka with a smile. “Wyvern Blizzard probably has more power and speed for the actual shoot, but I’d imagine Avalanche is pretty close to it.” He paused for a moment before laughing. “Granted, that’s if I’m necessary to get points. I’d rather not be put on the field if you guys can hold your own.”

“Eh?! But Yukimura, that shoot would be so helpful!” Kabeyama said, frowning in confusion as he tried to understand why Yoru wouldn’t play.

“Maybe so. But you guys are strong, and will only get stronger from here- you’ll be fine!” Yoru said confidently, his smile never fading. He was glad they’d already seemed to have forgotten about earlier, or at the least caught on to what he and Fubuki were doing and were kind enough not to mention it.

At some of the unsure looks of some of the team, Yoru’s smile softened a bit. “Come on, I’ll help you guys out. I’m actually having a pretty good day today, so I can help you guys train with actions as well as words.” He motioned for Endou to toss him the ball, and he held it up with a smile after catching it. “So what do you say? Let’s get back to practice!”


	12. Chapter 11: Girls and Guys

“So we’re going to Osaka, huh?” Yoru hummed, “Wonder if we’ll actually come across Aliea Academy.”

“It’s supposed to be a base of operation, so chances are we’ll come across _something_.” Fubuki mentioned optimistically.

Yoru laughed, nodding. “That’s true.”

“Proceed with caution!” Natsumi’s father said as the team started boarding the caravan once more, “We will be waiting for good news!”

Before Fubuki and Yoru got on the caravan, Someoka came over to them, expression just the littlest bit guilty. “Hey, Yoru-“

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Yoru said, holding up a hand in front of Someoka’s face to cut him off. “You’re gonna apologize, right? Don’t. You’re forgiven.”

Someoka let out an affronted shout, spluttering for a moment before he seemed to get his feet back under him. “What do you mean, ‘Don’t apologize’?! I said something that was really out of line! I wasn’t thinking and I was mad about a lot of things, but that gave me no right to say that to you!”

Yoru laughed softly, dismissing the comments with a wave of his hand. “Someoka, seriously, don’t beat yourself up about this. I was like that, too, after my accident.” He placed a hand on Someoka’s shoulder, giving it a pat. “For now, just focus on getting better- maybe even we can try to create a hissatsu technique together someday.”

Someoka stared, dumbfounded, before he smiled gently. “Yeah. That sounds like fun.” Yoru nodded, smiling in agreement.

“Well, I’ll let you two say goodbye now. See you on the caravan, Fubuki, and get better Someoka!” He waved goodbye as he went to the steps, going to his usual seat.

\-----

When they got to the location of the secret base, Yoru was, admittedly, thoroughly impressed.

If Aliea Academy actually had a hideout in this park, it was hidden well.

“Alright, so… how do you guys want to do this?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked around the amusement park. “Because we have a lot of ground to cover.” He looked to the others, who shrugged a little helplessly.

“It’s just an amusement park no matter how I look at it.”

“Then it wouldn’t be a secret hideout, would it?” Yoru explained with a laugh, taking a couple steps closer to the fountain so he could get a better view of the park and rocking up onto his toes for a moment in an attempt to see over the crowds of people. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fubuki wave over two girls off to the side

“For the time being, let’s split up and look for it. Nothing will happen if we just stand around here.” Natsumi said, and Endou agreed before looking around.

“Wait, where’s Fubuki?”

Yoru pointed over to the side where Fubuki was talking to a few girls almost immediately as he turned back around, biting his lip to hold in a laugh at the reactions of most of the team.

“Fubuki!” He called as the girls dragged his friend off, grinning slyly as Fubuki sent him a small _“Wait this isn’t what I thought would happen!”_ look over his shoulder.

“Have fun and try to meet up with us here around one or so!”

Yoru hid a smirk behind his hand as Fubuki seemed a bit panicked that no one was going to help him, and waved.

“Should… we not help him?” Kurimatsu asked, confused and concerned as he waved a hand vaguely in the direction Fubuki had been dragged. Yoru shrugged, unconcerned.

“He got himself into it, he’ll be fine.”

“Didn’t look like he’d be fine.” Kazemaru said softly. Yoru simply smiled before shrugging again.

“He’ll be fine.” He assured before looking around, curious as to where he should start his search. “I’ll go this way! See you guys in a bit!” He waved before darting off in the direction he had chosen, leaving the others staring after him much like they had Fubuki.

He wandered for a bit, activating his ability here and there to try and find any odd glows or mismatched… well, anything, that could mean a possible secret.

Eventually he had looked about halfway around the park, and had found two-maybe three- possible areas for a secret hideout. He didn’t get a chance to test them out, though. Too many people were around right now to even _think_ about trying it.

“Ah, Yoru!” Yoru blinked from the sound of his name, his ability canceling. He turned around to look for whoever called him, letting out a surprised yelp as Fubuki came barreling into him.

“Fubuki?!”

“I need you to hide me, fast!”

“What? Why?” Yoru yelped again as he was pulled around the corner of a food stand and pressed against it with Fubuki beside him, the slightly taller boy's arm pressed into his chest to keep him still. The sound of two girls running past could be heard, and Yoru peeked around the corner to see the two girls who had dragged Fubuki away, looking around for him before running in a different direction. “Weren’t those the girls who dragged you off?”

“Yes,” Fubuki groaned pitifully, slumping against the wall and hanging his head ever so slightly in shame. “They wouldn’t leave me alone after dragging me through the House of Horror.”

Yoru crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall and raising an eyebrow at him. “So you ran away?”

“I told them five times that I had to leave!” Fubuki whined, looking at Yoru with wide, pleading eyes that made Yoru's heart melt a little. “They wouldn’t let me go!”

Yoru laughed, patting his friend’s shoulder comfortingly. “No, I get it,” He assured with another small laugh. “I figured if you were desperate enough to hide, you’d already tried gently letting them down and leaving that way, only for it to fail.”

“…I still feel bad, though.” Fubuki murmured, looking down at the ground. Yoru gave him a sympathetic smile.

“Sorry.”

Fubuki sighed softly, lifting his head and smiling a moment later. “Well, I guess that’s just how it is… how has your search been going?” He asked, changing the topic.

“Oh, I found like three places we should try at some point.” Yoru explained, pointing over his shoulder to where he had just come from. “There are too many people around, though, so I don’t know when we’ll be able to give it a try.”

Fubuki nodded, chuckling softly as Yoru finished speaking. “It went better than my search!”

“Your search ended up being more of an escape, if I had to guess.” Yoru teased, causing Fubuki to pout at him. He laughed, checked for the girls, and then walked away from the stall, motioning for Fubuki to follow. “Seriously though, you _might_ want to pray you don’t come across them again while we’re here.”

“Way ahead of you,” Fubuki passed Yoru with a light jog,  looking over his shoulder to smile at him. “If I see them, I’m hiding behind you.”

“What if they see you, first?”

“I’ll politely say that I lost them in the crowd and met up with you guys instead.”

Yoru nodded, humming softly as he smiled at Fubuki. “Well then, let’s hope neither of those has to happen.”

Fubuki nodded as well, and they went through the park quietly, looking for places to check out later with the others. When they didn’t find anything else, they made their way back towards the entrance, where some of the others were waiting.

“Fubuki, Yukimura!” Domon called, waving them over. “Did you guys find anything?”

“I didn’t, but Yukimura did!”

“Seriously?!” Kazemaru asked, eyes widening in surprise. Yoru laughed nervously.

“Well, maybe? I found some oddities that might lead to a secret hideout, but I haven’t tried any of them yet. There were too many people around.”

“Well, that’s better than us.” Domon said with a laugh. “None of us managed to find anything.”

Eventually the others came over as well, but no one except Yoru had found anything.

“How did you even find those?” Kidou asked, making Fubuki grin.

“I told you he had amazing eyes!”

Yoru blushed from embarrassment, laughing weakly and scratching at his cheek as he looked away. “It’s nothing, seriously.”

“Hey, where’s Ichinose?” Aki asked after looking around and noticing the brown-haired boy still wasn't back. Yoru barked out another small laugh as Fubuki asked some girls passing by if they had seen him. Really now, had he not learned from the last two?

“Ichinose went outside.” Fubuki explained, motioning to the girls behind him. “These girls said they saw him leave.”

“Hello!” The girls cheered happily, grinning at the group. Yoru subtly grabbed Fubuki’s hand to tug him behind him when he came back over with the girls, not wanting a repeat of earlier.

“Hello.” He repeated the greeting, smiling politely at the girls. “Can you tell us where you saw our friend go? I’m afraid we need to find him for something rather important.”

“Oh, sure!” The girl with light brown hair said happily, smiling at Yoru, “He went to the town’s Okonomiyaki restaurant with the owner’s daughter!”

The one with darker hair nodded, “The building is fairly easy to spot. It’s got a poster of a squid and a poster of an octopus on the windows. The food’s pretty good, but the owner and her daughter argue quite a bit so the atmosphere's usually ruined.”

“Do you have directions?” Yoru asked, and the girl with dark hair nodded again.

“Sure we do! Do you have anything to write them down with?”

“Ah, I do!” Otonashi said, pulling a mini notebook and pencil from a pocket in her skirt. “Here.”

“Thank you!” The girl wrote down the directions and handed Otonashi the notebook and pen back. “Hope you find your friend!” She called as she and her friend turned to leave.

“Thanks for the help!” Yoru and Fubuki told them, before they all went looking for the restaurant.

\---

“So this is the place those girls were talking about.” Endou said as they looked at the building in front of them. He opened the door, and as they all peeked in, Ichinose looked over from where he was talking to a girl with dark skin and teal hair.

“Endou!” Ichinose said, smiling brightly.

“What’re you doing here?” Endou asked, before Kabeyama noticed the empty plate on the table.

“Okonomiyaki! That’s not fair, senpai!”

“Well, things happened…” Ichinose began unsurely, and the girl turned back to Ichinose.

“Are these the friends you were talking about?” The girl asked, and Ichinose nodded.

“Yeah.” He said, before standing and thanking the girl for the okonomiyaki. He started to walk towards the others, but the girl cut him off, saying she couldn’t let him leave. Yoru frowned.

“This doesn’t seem good.” He murmured, mostly to himself. His words came true as she mentioned some stupid thing where whatever Ichinose had eaten meant that they had to get married, and as much as he would love to help Ichinose, he knew exactly where the line was drawn for him.

Yoru sighed, stepping away from the doorway and holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay; a crazy lady is involved, so I’m out.”

“Hold on, we can’t let her do that!” Endou said, motioning to the door that was suddenly slammed in their faces. As Ichinose called for their help on the other side of the door, Yoru had to agree. Ichinose did not deserve to have no say in that situation; much less not even know what was happening in the first place. Yoru knew very well what that felt like, but that might even be half the reason he was so uncertain about continuing forward. Very rarely could you barter with crazy.

Still....

A loud crash came from inside, making the group wince as Ichinose let out a particularly desperate "Endou!!!"

Yoru softly let out an uneasy groan, looking up at the sky as he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I agree, but what can we do to get her to let him go?”

Endou frowned, thinking for a moment before he seemed to get an idea and turned to open the door again.

“Hey, move aside!” A girl with dark brown hair said, shoving Endou away from the door when he moved to go open it.

“What’re you doing?” Kazemaru snapped, and another voice pulled everyone’s attention to the group of girls standing beside them.

“We came to get Rika, _duh_.” A short girl with a green cap with lighter green flowers on it said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Suddenly, the girls were introducing themselves with some sort of intro and poses before opening the door to the restaurant and asking the girl inside just what she was doing so fast Yoru's head nearly spun. The girl who opened the door froze, took in the scene before her, and all hope Yoru had of Okonomiyaki Girl's friends knocking sense into her disappeared as the girl who opened the door squealed and shouted that Rika had found a husband.

Yoru stared at them for a moment, dumbfounded.

“....Yeah, no, I can’t deal with this.” Yoru said, turning to leave for the time being. No one said they couldn’t try again in a half hour or so, when the crazy girls were gone. He was stopped by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt collar, a slightly dramatic "Ack!" leaving his lips as he was jerked to a stop. He tilted his head back and pouted at Fubuki, who gave him a stern look in response.

Yoru huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Fine, he’d stay.

\-----

… Or maybe not.

He sighed heavily, slapping a hand to his head. “Megane… Are you kidding me?” He murmured, shaking his head. “I mean, I don’t have any better ideas, but are you _kidding_ me?”

“I mean… they _are_ agreeing to it.” Fubuki tried to reason from beside him as they watched the girls warm up nearby. “And we’re pretty strong, so… it should work out, right?” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself this was going to work as flawlessly as Megane seemed to think it would, too.

“I mean, it’s practice, so either way it won’t hurt… on the off chance we lose, and are still a little bit lucky, they’ll realize that Ichinose should just do what he wants. Otherwise, if we aren’t lucky at all, we lose a good player…”

“We… should be fine.” Fubuki laughed nervously, looking to Yoru. “Just do what you normally do?”

Yoru sighed, running through the situation's odds in his head once again before smiling. “You got it. Make sure you do the same, and have fun!”

“Right,” Fubuki smiled, gave Yoru a small wave, and jogged over to his position on the field.

Yoru sat down on the bench beside the girls, propping his good leg up on the edge of the seat and stretching his bad one out.  “I feel like you should be out there…” Natsumi admitted with a sigh, looking just as unsure as  Yoru felt. Yoru shrugged, looking out at the field. 

“We’ll slam them with our Tsutenkaku hissatsu shoots!” The Rika girl shouted to her mom, before being asked by the girl next to her if they even had a shoot like that.

Yoru groaned, resting his head on his knee for a moment as if to process the sight before him before sighing and lifting his head to look at Natsumi again. “Hey, if we need me to come in and help during this match, I think we’re really going to have a problem.”

“Is this team really okay?” The girls let out nervous laughs of their own, smiling unsurely as they watched the teams on the field.

As the match began, Yoru activated his ability, studying the Osaka Gals’ glows. It was disturbing how refreshing it felt to be looking at a team that  _wasn't_ poisoned, but Yoru wasn't about to start complaining. All of the Osaka Gals had a tint of pink- some more than others- but another good portion of the team had a mischievous glow about them. The other half was incredibly passionate, their glows almost the perfect mix of Valentine’s colors. Rika’s was one of those girls.

Yoru watched as the girls used precise ball handling as well as their charm to confuse and work around Raimon’s team, and he honestly had to say he was impressed. He was worried how well the girls would hold up against Raimon, and sure, he knew they were probably a lot stronger than they looked when Megane decided to implement this crazy idea, but he was still very impressed. These girls knew where their strengths were, and they used it to their advantage.

Also, seeing Raimon fumble around a bit when fighting an all-girl team was actually rather entertaining.

‘I wonder if I would have gotten caught into their pace, too.’ He thought, smiling as he watched the team and looked for any weak points they could aim for. It seemed like Rika and Reika were their strongest shooters, so they would probably have to try and seal them off. The problem with that, though, is that Raimon would have to try to get and _keep_ the ball from constantly falling back into their team’s hands. The Osaka Gals were quick on their feet and good at misdirection, which left very little time to find proper timings and chances to steal if they had a chance to use that misdirection. They’d have to aim for when the girls were dribbling or passing.

The first half ended with the Osaka Gals having the leading point.

Yoru hummed as the others came over, returning his vision to normal and smirking at them. He rested his head in his hand while he propped an arm on his leg, giving the boys a look. “Well, that went about what I expected.” He laughed softly; a portion of the team groaned. “Hey, it’s okay. Just try to get the ball when they’re dribbling or passing, and do your best to block off Rika and Reika. Those girls are fast, and good at misdirection.” He paused, studying the team.

“I could be wrong, since I didn’t really see some of you interact with them enough, but I’d say our strongest players against them would be Touko, Kidou, Endou, Kogure, and Ichinose. Probably Fubuki, too.” He laughed as he added Fubuki to the list, grinning slyly at him. “He could charm them, instead of the other way around.”

Fubuki laughed shyly, scratching lightly at his cheek as they turned a light pink.

“Well, that’s all I’ve got for you. Sorry I couldn’t find more, they’re actually pretty unpredictable.”

“No, we could use that to our advantage…” Kidou said, placing a hand to his chin as he thought. A few seconds later, the team was in a huddle, quietly discussing what the plan should be, before they broke apart and went back to their positions on the field.

“Good luck guys!” Yoru called, chuckling and pulling his bad leg up to be on the bench as well so he was hugging his knees. “Let’s hope they win this.”

Fubuki headed up the field, and Yoru smiled as he changed into Atsuya the last second before one of the girls could try to steal the ball, jumping into the air with the ball and flipping over her. “Think that’d work on me?!” He shouted almost cockily. Yoru hid a smile behind his knees.

Okay, so it _wasn’t_ Fubuki’s charms that made him strong against the girls, but Atsuya’s total inability to be affected by them.

Cute.

Atsuya landed on the other side of the girl, shooting Eternal Blizzard and freezing the inside of the goal once more after blowing away the goalie.

“They did it, Kino!” Otonashi cheered, hugging Aki tightly as Natsumi sighed in relief.

“Nice, Fubuki!” Endou called as Atsuya turned back to Shiro.

After that, the game turned into a fairy even game, the teams going back and forth with ease. Raimon had their head back in the game, and it was showing.

Endou stopped Rika’s Rose Splash shoot with Majin the Hand, throwing the ball to Ichinose. Ichinose quickly wove around the players and scored with his Spiral Shot. After that, he and Fubuki continued to score points, ending the match at 4-1.

Yoru clapped and gave a small cheer, standing up with the girls. “Well, that was fun to watch. You girls were pretty good!” He called to the Osaka Gals, before watching as Ichinose tried to escape from Rika’s hold. Okay, so they may have been able to keep Ichinose from “getting married”, but apparently that wasn’t going to stop Rika.

He sighed as he watched the two, rubbing the back of his neck. Should he be happy or concerned?

“Well, at least we’ll get another forward out of this.” He murmured to himself with a small chuckle.

Megane asked the girls just how they managed to get so strong, and the very bad job Rika's team did of keeping Rika from explaining how they got so strong made Yoru blink in surprise before his eyes widened as he realized what that probably meant.

“Follow us.” Rika explained, smiling, and they headed back towards the amusement park.


	13. Chapter 12: Unstable

After heading into the castle attraction and being led into a supposed dead end, Yoru was pleased to see they were going to one of the three places he had found as leads to Epsilon’s hideout.

“We checked here earlier, and it only led to a dead end.” Domon explained, confused. Yoru shrugged, motioning vaguely to the fence as Rika walked over to the spot he had found earlier.

“Part of the fence is a lever.” He explained, "It's really hard to see, but there's a spot that has two very thin seams in it." Rika nodded as she pulled the very same lever, making the floor start lowering. Most of the team let out awed gasps of surprise as they took in the giant training center, but Yoru's excitement was dulled by the thought that the center was designed to look like a bee hive. In the back of his mind, a whisper saying it was Aliea's kept nudging its way to the front.

Rika grinned, dropping her voice to a whisper, "Save your surprise for what's inside."

As the group reached the center, Rika and her teammates hopped out of the elevator. “This is our practice center!” Rika announced as the got out. Yoru let out a short whistle of awe as they checked out some of the nearby rooms and the equipment within.

“These look pretty high tech.” He said with a hum, although the sheer amount of pink and stickers on everything hurt his eyes a little bit. “Did you build them, or...?”

“Oh, we found it by accident.” One of the girls explained, making Yoru’s suspicions this used to belong to Aliea Academy more solid. “No one’s come back, so we’ve taken it as our own.”

The group went into the first room they came across, with two regular looking endurance training machines inside. Yoru walked over to one, running his fingers of the cold metal as he made his way to the control panel. A closer look at the options offered to run on showed that it wasn't  _quite_ normal and could probably offer some good training for the others.

“It looks like a normal machine you could find anywhere.” Megane stated coolly, a smug grin on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think it offers much value in terms of training.”

Yoru looked up from the control panel, glancing over at the group. “Megane, I’d really consider choosing your words carefully.” Yoru said softly, trying to warn his teammate.

“Well, people who can bear it get results. For you, though, it’d be more that you can handle.” Rika said smugly, making Yoru sigh. This was probably not going to end well.

Megane growled, getting onto the machine and falling even further into Rika’s goading. "I'll show you!"

"I really do suggest you give up," Rika goaded, words almost sickeningly sweet. "Don't blame me if you get hurt!"

"You shouldn't make fun of me! Bring it on!"

“Wait, hold on!" Yoru interjected quickly, "Before you start this, I think I want to test it out, too.” After all, better he gave it a try now to see what his teammates were doing, instead of when all of them were on the machine at once.

“Wait, really?” Endou asked, surprised. Yoru smiled, nodding.

“It seems like fun, and I should be able to gouge if I can join you during your training like this.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to join?” Rika asked, all goading replaced by curiosity. Yoru shrugged, holding back the sigh on his lips from the thought of his leg.

“I’ve got a bad leg.” He replied simply as he got onto the machine beside Megane. The girl who had attached herself to Megane’s side started the machine, and it whirred to life. Yoru easily matched his pace to the machine at a light jog, humming in pleasant surprise. “Hey, this is actually not that--“

“W-Wait… This is level one? It’s too hard already!” Megane said, already looking like he was struggling. Yoru immediately felt embarrassed for him.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have joined you… you could have saved a bit of face.” Yoru mumbled to himself, before focusing on the machine again as they raised it to level two.

Okay, a little less pleasant.

His bad leg twinged uncomfortably the longer he ran and the more tilts and hills the machine-- or, more accurately, the girls controlling it-- added, the hard slam of his feet onto the metal treadmill sending unpleasant shocks up from his ankle. He knew the safest bet would be to get off now, so that’s exactly what he did. He stopped moving the second the hills ended, letting himself be carried back by the machine and jumping onto the mat to catch them if they were tossed. He winced as his ankle threatened to give out under him, but staying here when Megane was still scrambling for his footing on the machine was a bad idea. He got off the mat and went over to the others, being careful with his leg and walking mainly on his toes for that foot. He knew he looked like he was limping a bit, but better that than possibly having his leg give out under him.

“You okay, Yukimura?” Kabeyama asked. Yoru smiled at the younger boy, nodding.

“Yeah, I’m good. My leg’s pretty sore, but it seems that’s my limit on good days. Too many shocks to the leg.” He explained before sitting down on the ground and rubbing feeling back into his ankle. “It’s fun though. Hard, but fun.”

“You lasted until the start of level three.” Rika hummed, looking over to Yoru. “That’s the best you can do?”

Yoru shrugged. “Is that good, or bad? I was pretty good at soccer when I could play, and still am. But my training’s stuck in an almost permanent standstill now, so I can’t really level up or anything.” He paused, his words sour on his tongue the longer he thought about them. He quickly backtracked, "Or at the very least, can't level up as fast."

Rika studied him for a few minutes before giving a shrug of her own and turning back to watch Megane take on the training machine, not giving Yoru an answer.

Megane was thrown off soon after, the boot that was launched to represent a tackle hitting Megane's ankle making Yoru wince. His ankle definitely would’ve given out then, if he had stayed on.

"It's a very sophisticated system." Kidou mentioned as he walked over to Rika. The teal-haired girl nodded, grinning proudly.

"It gets harder and harder as the level goes up; not even my team has been able to clear the final level." 

Endou was quick to say he wanted to train in the center, Kazemaru bringing up the fact they had three days to train before the match with Epsilon soon after. Their excitement and determination were almost infectious; they could get even stronger and maybe even win again Epsilon. Yoru smiled, agreeing, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they had no idea what they were getting into, even after their first encounter with the stronger team.

It was a huge relief when Rika said they could use the center to train.

Yoru followed them around as they showed everyone all the different rooms they hadn't looked at before, but when Fubuki found the one he was going to train in, he stayed with his friend. Something in Fubuki’s eyes made Yoru nervous, and he wanted to keep an eye on him.

“We can work on Avalanche.” He explained as the others asked why he’d stay. “See if it can get past Epsilon’s defenses or not.”

"Oh, that makes sense!” Endou exclaimed. “Well, we’ll leave you guys to it!”

“Great.” Yoru smiled, hoping it was as unassuming as possible. When they were gone, he turned to look at Fubuki with concern in his eyes, his smile gone. “Fubuki, are you okay?” He asked. Fubuki looked at him in surprise, as if not expecting the question, before smiling.

“Huh? I’m fine! Why would you ask that?” Fubuki asked softly, trying to play off like he didn’t know what Yoru was asking about.

Yoru sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, unimpressed. “Don’t lie to me, Shiro, Atsuya.” He said softly, using both of their names to get his point across. “You know why I’m asking.”

Fubuki’s smile disappeared, gaze falling to the ground at the same time. “… Eternal Blizzard was blocked.” He murmured. “It’s never been blocked before. I—we thought it was perfect.”

Yoru frowned slightly, walking over and placing a hand on Fubuki's shoulder. “Someone was going to be able to beat it someday, Fubuki.” He began softly, “It just means you need to get stronger in order to match yourself to them.” He bit his lip, thinking over his next words carefully for a moment. “How can you have fun if there’s never any room to grow?”

“I want to be perfect.” Fubuki said honestly, lifting his head and looking at Yoru with almost desperate eyes. “I don’t want to be left behind.”

Yoru smiled reassuringly, giving Fubuki’s shoulder a squeeze. “You won’t be left behind." He told him with all the certainty he'd ever had, "Come on, let’s do Avalanche a few times before you get started on Eternal Blizzard.”

Fubuki nodded, not looking all that convinced. The nervous and uncertain feeling in Yoru’s stomach refused to disappear, even as he and Fubuki worked on Avalanche until it got through the machine’s defenses at least twice. After that, Yoru had to sit out, his leg protesting on a level that was just bordering violent.

When Atsuya took over, Yoru watched from beside the door, frowning all the while. This didn't feel right.

On a whim, he activated his ability, and what he saw shocked him. Atsuya and Shiro were being pulled further apart; Shiro’s calm glow receding as Atsuya’s flared to life with an ice-cold blue center.  Yoru could almost taste the fear that rolled off them both in waves, the edges of their glows tinted a sickly yellow instead of a bright one, like it would be if they were happy.

Fubuki’s mind was fraying; far too close to tearing apart at the seams for Yoru to want to leave it be. He returned his vision to normal, watching with dread as Fubuki tore himself apart from the inside out.

At least, he didn't  _want_ to leave it be... was there anything he could do, though?

\---

Yoru jumped in surprise as the door opened, looking over at where Aki and Endou stood. He has been so engrossed in watching Fubuki practice, torn between wanting to help and knowing he wasn't equipped with the right knowledge and skill to do so, he hadn't heard them getting closer to the room.

“Fubuki, Yukimura! Come eat with us!” Endou said happily, his expression falling into stunned surprise as he noticed how wound up Fubuki was when he didn't receive an answer.

The look on their faces reminded Yoru that Fubuki probably wouldn't want them seeing him like this, so he quickly got to his feet and made his way over to them. “Ah, we’ll eat later, Endou.” Yoru promised with as calm a smile as he could manage. It felt offar too forced, but Endou and Aki didn't seem to notice. “Fubuki’s, uh, rather focused right now… It’d probably be bad to interrupt him.”

“Are you sure…? Maybe he should take a break.” Yoru’s nervous smile slipped from his face; he glanced over his shoulder at Fubuki. He would _love_ for Hakuren's Prince to take a break, but... 

He motioned Aki and Endou outside, the door closing behind them as Yoru followed them out.

“I’ve been trying to get him to take a break for an hour now.” He admitted softly, like Fubuki wasn't so out of it he didn't even notice they had left. “He’s not listening. I’ll make sure he eats and gets rest, but for now, could you guys leave it to me?”

“You sure?”

Yoru nodded, even as his mind whimpered a small ' _no'_. “Please.”

Aki and Endou exchanged an unsure glance, before Endou nodded. “Alright. Here, we brought some food for you two. Eat it when you get a chance.” He said, handing the small baskets of food he and Aki held. Yoru smiled, taking them carefully, “Thanks. I’ll make sure he eats.” He reaffirmed before heading back into the room. He set the food down and walked over to the cage, watching Atsuya for a little while longer.

“Atsuya,” He started when it seemed Atsuya had exhausted himself enough to listen, waiting for the boy to look at him. “You need to take a break.”

“No! I need to get stronger, and if I take a break, I--“

“Take a break.” Yoru interrupted sternly, no room for argument in his voice as he stopped the training machine. “Endou and Aki brought us food and water, so get your butt over here and eat.” Atsuya snarled at Yoru when he noticed the machine was shut off, resolute in his determination to stay there. Yoru sighed, setting the food down before entering the caged area and going over to Atsuya.

He flicked the younger boy’s forehead, causing Atsuya to let out a yelp and glare at him with a low growl. Yoru continued to look at him, unfazed. “Don’t snarl at me. Now come and eat, or you’ll collapse before you can get anywhere near Epsilon!” He grabbed Atsuya's arm and pulled him out of the cage, sitting him down on the ground.

“I don’t want to eat, Yukimura!” Atsuya snapped, making Yoru frown.

“Does Shiro share that opinion?”

At that Atsuya froze, a little bit of the crazy look in his eyes disappearing. He looked down, quiet. After a beat of silence, he turned back into Shiro, who looked sheepish and fairly exhausted. Yoru sighed, smiling at him and handing him his bottle of water and some food. “Both of you deserve to take a break.” He said softly. “Make sure you eat enough, and rest.”

Fubuki nodded, and he took a few bites of food. Yoru started eating as well, the two of them falling into silence. “I feel like we haven’t really gotten anywhere with Eternal Blizzard.” Fubuki mumbled after a while. Yoru smiled sadly, bumping his shoulder with Fubuki's.

“You’ve gotten better.” He assured with a smile. “There’s more power behind each kick and you're slowly getting better at aim. If you guys manage to get perfect aim without having to consciously thing of it, I’m sure you’ll be able to do it soon.”

“But it’s not enough as it is! If we can’t get goals in, then why am I here?” Fubuki asked, gritting his teeth and sounding absolutely devastated. “I-I need to be perfect.”

“You’re doing just fine, Fubuki.” Yoru said, “Shiro, Atsuya; the team loves and needs them both. You’re perfect the way you are.” He wanted to say that Fubuki didn’t have to be perfect, that being imperfect was fine and he could just do his best, but he was scared to say the wrong thing. He didn’t want to make a mistake or hurt Fubuki's feelings in some way.

“I need to be perfect, Yukimura… If I’m not perfect, then…”

Yoru sighed softly, not letting Fubuki finish as he wrapped his arms around him in a hug.

“Both of you are perfect in your own ways, Fubuki.” He said softly, rubbing his back lightly. He could feel just how tense his friend was, and desperately wished what he was saying was the right thing; that he could get through to them both. “You don’t need to work yourself to the bone.”

“But Atsuya couldn’t make the shoot, and they don’t need me as a defender.” Fubuki said dully, resting his head on Yoru's shoulder. “So why am I here?”

“You're here because you're amazing-- you don't have to make every shot or save every ball… You just need to have fun.”

Fubuki’s expression didn’t get better, but he leaned into the hug, so Yoru hoped he had done something right.

\----

The next day, Atsuya destroyed the arms on the machine on Level 7 automatic and continued to shoot until Yoru was sure his legs would give out on him.

“Okay, we’re not doing this today.” He huffed, walking over and shutting off the machine. Atsuya growled at him, Yoru gave him a glare in return. “Fubuki Atsuya, you listen to me and you better listen well. I am _not_ going to stand here and watch you destroy your body over this!”

“Then _leave_!” Atsuya hissed, glaring at Yoru and panting hard. His legs were shaking, barely able to keep him up. “I don’t need you here, anyway!”

Yoru reeled back at that, eyes widening in surprise and an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. It faded quickly but the memory of it refused to leave; he frowned, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He had to calm down; there was no sense in turning this into a shouting match.

“Alright,” He conceded, voice quiet as he decided not to fight with Atsuya. “You win, Atsuya. I’ll leave. But I’m not kidding- if you keep going like this you will _not_ succeed in whatever you are trying to prove." Unwillingly, he remembered the fuzzy first few months after getting his leg shattered and the pain that came with them. The fevers. The crying.

The pain.

"You _will_ collapse.” He finished, heterochromatic eyes meeting burning gold. Atsuya clicked his tongue, breaking eye contact with Yoru. He didn't move.

Yoru sighed, turning to the door. “I just hope you come to realize that on your own terms, since my words seem to mean nothing to you.” He murmured, giving Atsuya a small smile and wave before leaving the room, letting the door shut behind him.

He let out a long exhale, leaning against the door and staying there for a few seconds. His stomach churned uncomfortably, worry and fear making him nauseous as he thought back to the Fubuki he had been watching train. At this rate, Fubuki was going to seriously hurt himself.

_"Yoru! What are you doing?! Get back inside this instant!"_

_"No!" Yoru snapped, ignoring the pain flaring up his injured leg with every step. as he ran across the yard towards the goal. He had to practice. He couldn't accept that he'd never play soccer again. The doctor had to be lying, like they had everything else. They had to be._

_He heard the pop before he felt it; his bad leg buckling beneath him with a roll of his ankle and pain flaring all the way to his hip. He bit his tongue hard, holding in a scream as he pushed himself up from the grass. He couldn't stop now. He had to keep moving. He had to do this. He had to know he could still play. He slowly got to his feet, air hissing through his teeth as he fought against the throbbing pain in his leg, eyes focused solely on the ball. He stepped closer, a choked gasp leaving him without permission as his leg couldn't even hold him up and he went crashing down again. He gritted his teeth, tears burning the corners of his eyes._

_Just one proper shoot, that's all he wanted. Just one-_

_A warm hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him up before arms wrapped around his chest under his arms and lifted him into the air. Yoru let out a scream as he was lifted, the sound raw and foreign even to his own ears. "Let me go, Natsume!" He snarled, kicking and thrashing his arms around as hard as he could. The arms around him held him even tighter. "Let! Me! G--"_

Yoru swallowed thickly, staring at the ceiling of the hallway. He listened as Atsuya and Shiro conversed, before stepping away from the door and starting towards the main deck that connected all the rooms.

He needed to talk with Coach Hitomiko.

“Ah, Yukimura!” Endou called as he passed the room the rest of the team was in, resting. Yoru paused, plastering a smile on his face.

“Hey. Have you guys seen Coach? I need to talk to her.”

“Coach?” Touko repeated, looking over from her spot by the complex training treadmill. “Why do you need to talk to her? Not that I’ve seen her.”

“It’s important,"” Yoru didn't give them any more information as he stepped into the doorway and looked around the room to see if she was there. His heart dropped when he saw she wasn't-- this was too important to have to run around looking for their coach in every room, wasting the time Yoru had before Fubuki hurt himself.

“She might be at the caravan.” Aki suggested, helpful as always, and Yoru smiled.

“Thanks! I’ll go check right now!” Yoru exclaimed, not giving the others a second glance as he ran for the elevator.

When he was up top, he was incredibly glad to see Coach Hitomiko there, talking to Furukabu. “Coach Hitomiko!” He called, catching her attention.

“Yukimura? What is it?”

Yoru was already opening his mouth to speak as he ran to her, knowing exactly what he was going to say. He didn't want to do this to Fubuki, didn't want to take this away from him, but it was all he could think of to keep him safe. With words bitter on his tongue, begging to be swallowed whole, he said, “I want you to take Fubuki off the team.”

Hitomiko's eyes widened a fraction, before she schooled it into a calm expression. “Why?” Was all she said, the tone of her voice making Yoru fight the urge to growl. She knew  _exactly_ why he wanted Fubuki off the team.

“He’s killing himself, that’s why!” He all but spat, “You know about Atsuya, you’ve seen the mess he’s becoming, so why won’t you do anything?!”

“I told you.” Hitomiko began with a voice as cold as ice, crossing her arms over her chest. “If I need them, I will use them. That won’t change. I need Fubuki, so he’s staying.”

“It’s not good for his health!” Yoru did growl this time, hands clenched tightly into shaking fists at his sides. Anger and fear bubbled in his chest, almost making it difficult to breath as they pressed down on him. “Shouldn’t that be top priority?” He snapped, “A coach should be looking out for the player’s health and wellbeing, and I know you did that for Someoka and this Gouenji guy, so why won’t you do it for Fubuki?!”

It wasn't fair. Someoka was just as determined to keep going at the risk of his health as Fubuki was now, and  _he_ was forced to rest and heal. Why wasn't she doing it for Fubuki? Why was he the one she was willing to break?

“No matter what you say, I don’t intend to change my mind about keeping Fubuki on the team.” Hitomiko said calmly, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “And both of you are going to be used whether you like it or not.”

Yoru bit the inside of his cheek. Dug his nails into his palms. Took a deep breath. “I don’t care if you use me," He breathed out quietly, calming himself down the best he could. "I was always going to come with you, no matter what you or anyone said. I don’t care if you use me until I break. But one day you’ll realize just how wrong this is, and it better be before Fubuki ends up _snapping_ because of your complete ignorance to his problems.” He hissed the words, vemon clear in each one even as he kept his voice as level as he could. His leg and heart ached in tandem, as if even they knew what was bound to happen if things went on like this.

Hitomiko said nothing, her gaze cold as it stayed locked on Yoru, and it felt almost like she was judging him; saying he'd failed in some way. He shuddered.

"...What do you want from me?" The crack in his voice was unwelcomed yet plagued his words as he forced them out. Hitomiko let out a confused hum, like she wasn't expecting the sudden turn of the topic. "The way your looking at me is like I've failed in some way. You say I'm useful, but Kidou is already enough as a strategist. He could lead the team to victory faster than I could. There are already _three_ other managers; it's not like you need a fourth. You keep me off the field even when I say I can try. It's clear that  _I'm not meant to be here."_

Words said, Yoru was quick to realize just how true they were; he really _was_ just along for the ride, like he had come unwanted like he had already planned to do if they were just going to take Fubuki instead of them both. He wasn't supposed to be here-- he'd known that since the moment he saw Gemini Storm's sickly purple glows. He wasn't needed for anything, not really. It was like Hitomiko was just humoring him, making him think he was actually doing something, like someone would a  _child_.

It hurt.

Coach Hitomiko was quiet for a while longer, leaving Yoru stewing in his own revelation. "I needed someone there to keep an eye on Fubuki."

It was like Hitomiko had just punched Yoru in the gut. He looked at her, eyes wide and fear crashing over him like a tidal wave. "What makes you think  _I_ can help him?!" He snapped, voice shaking. "I can't even help myself!"

"You know him better than anyone else, surely you'd be able to get through to him."

 _"You're_ supposed to be watching over him! _You're_ the adult! Our parents entrusted us to _you!"_

"I need him on the field!"

"You need to be the one to know when to stop!" Yoru shouted, heart racing as he tried to wrap his head around this entire situation. How was he supposed to keep Fubuki from breaking down? He was probably saying five wrong things and only one good thing every time he so much as opened his mouth when talking about Atsuya and Shiro. He wasn't a therapist like his mom. He didn't know what to do or say to help. He was the worst possible person to give that responsibility to. "Fubuki needs to be taken off the team, before he has a mental breakdown!"

"Then you help prevent one!" Coach Hitomiko snapped, grey eyes flaring. Yoru reeled back from the harshness of her voice, staring at her with wide eyes. Her own eyes widened as if she realized she'd snapped, and she was quick to close them and take a deep breath. "I gave you a job," She whispered, "Now do it."

Yoru gulped, feeling his whole body shake as his blood ran cold. What was Coach Hitomiko thinking? He wasn't meant to do this, he was just going to make things  _worse_ and Fubuki was--

His heart stopped as the next thought came crashing into his mind, tears burning just behind his eyes.

 _Fubuki was going to hate him. Was going to get hurt because of_ him _._

"Yukimura," Furukabu's voice snapped him out of his shock, the older man looking at Yoru with concern; a hand reached out to touch his shoulder. Yoru's stomach flipped-- he'd forgotten he was there. "Are you--"

"I'm fine." Yoru choked out, stepping away from the bus driver. He turned back towards the park, not saying anything else as he made his way back inside. It felt like he wasn't there as he heard the faint voices of Furukabu and Hitomiko start talking again when he was almost out of earshot, like he was detached from his own body. The last time he'd felt like this was during the first weeks after his leg was shattered.

He went back to the practice center, although he wasn’t sure what to do when he got there. He didn't think he could be around Fubuki right now, and even the thought of being around the others made him feel a little sick to his stomach. He wandered to the defense room, nearly jumping out of his skin when Atsuya came darting from the room. “Atsu--“ He cut himself off when he realized the rest of the team could still hear him, and used that moment to make his choice.

He ran after Atsuya as fast as he could, not caring about the repercussions it might have on his leg. “Atsuya! Hey, what’s going on?!” He asked as they entered the room Fubuki had been staying in constantly. Of course, that  _stupid_ shooting machine was the reason behind this. Atsuya started the machine up once again, and already seeing where this was probably heading, Yoru closed the door and locked it, trying to keep the team from getting in as well.

“I thought you said you’d be leaving.” Atsuya growled, turning and looking at him with a look in his eyes that made a shock of fear slash through Yoru. He took a cautious step back towards the door. “What are you doing back here?”

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Yoru snapped, frowning. “You’re obsessing over this in quite literally the worst way possible!”

“Stay out of it, Yukimura!”

“No, I will not stay out of it! You’re killing yourself, A--“ He paused, hearing a stampede of feet coming their way, and he sighed, grabbing Atsuya’s shoulder. “You need to breathe and take a break. You will be no help to anyone if you keep going like this.”

“You sound like a broken record.” Atsuya spat, tearing himself away. “Just leave me alone, got it? This doesn’t concern you, so stop acting like it does!”

Before Yoru could say anything else, Atsuya walked to the other side of the cage, getting into position and shouting in anger as he launched the soccer ball towards the goal. Yoru shivered, an uncomfortable ball of fear and worry resting heavily in his stomach. Hesitantly, he activated his ability, and he felt his blood turn to ice for the second time that day as he saw Shiro’s glow being nearly engulfed by Atsya’s terrified, unstable one.


	14. Chapter 13: Downhill Slope

Fubuki brushing against his legs roused Yoru from his light sleep. He frowned as he crept off the bus, and quickly got up to follow. He ran to catch up to him when they were past the girls’ tent, and he grabbed his wrist when Atsuya started that goddamn machine again.

“Fubuki Atsuya, what the hell are you doing?” He hissed at the younger male, voice echoing through the silent room. “You should be sleeping, _not_ about to train!”

“Let go of me!” Atsuya pulled his wrist free, amber eyes glaring at Yoru. “Why do you keep bugging me?! I told you to leave me alone! I need to do this, Yukimura!”

“Why? To be perfect?” Yoru asked, “You’re destroying yourself! You and Shiro are dying over this, and I refuse to stand by and watch!”

“Why do you care?!”

“Because I remember being scared, just like you!” Yoru snapped, and Atsuya froze, staring at Yoru with wide eyes.

“What….?”

“Do you think I just accepted the fact I could no longer play? That I wasn’t terrified I’d be dropped like I was nothing?” Yoru laughed bitterly. “You’re forgetting that I have demons, too. Demons that rear their heads far more often than I’d like. I get how terrifying not doing what you thought you were needed for is.”

The shock Atsuya had been feeling must have dissipated, because the glare and snarl returned full force, his shoulders hunching ever so slightly. “I’m not scared!” He shouted, “ _I’m_ the one that’s needed, not Shiro! So what if I want to be perfect?! He wants it too!”

“This isn’t the way to go about it-“

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut _up!”_ Atsuya shouted, anger and desperation rolling off him in waves. “You don’t get it! If I’m not perfect, then why are either of us here?!”

“Overworking yourself isn’t-“

“You are always saying that we don’t need to be perfect! What do you propose we do if that isn’t what we’re supposed to be?! Everyone will leave us!”

“They won’t leave you!” Yoru shouted, desperate for Astuya and Shiro to understand. “That just want you to be happy and have fun with them! Not hurt yourself trying to score a goal against Desarm!”

“What makes you so certain?!” Atsuya shouted, voice cracking slightly as even Shiro seemed to try and come out. “Why do you keep saying that?!” His words rang out in the silence, and Yoru was quiet for a few minutes while the both of them took a chance to calm down.

“I care about you, obviously.” He said softly, “Besides… can’t the fact that I’d stay with you, no matter where you go or how perfect you consider yourself, be enough?” He took a step forward; Fubuki took a step back.

“I don’t get how you can say those things!” The Snow Prince cried, desperation leaking into his voice as Shiro and Atsuya seemed to be at war with themselves. “I don’t get how you can just- just be fine with not being perfect, by not being scared of being left behind!”

Yoru smiled sadly, shrugging. “Who ever said I was?” He asked softly, not moving closer and giving Fubuki his space. “Who ever said I wasn’t scared?”

He waited to see if Fubuki would say anything else, continuing when Fubuki only stared at the ground. “Fubuki, I was terrified after my accident. I couldn’t even _walk_ after it. Imagine being told you could never play soccer the way you wanted to ever again, imagine hearing rumors spread through your school about how the Soccer club was going to drop you because you were no longer useful. It’s terrifying, and I was nearly hysterical between periods of depression. I- I don’t want to see that happen to you, Fubuki.”

“But you-“

“I chose to leave, Fubuki… I chose to leave Oumihara and transfer to Hakuren. I chose to put that life behind me and try again so that I could visit my old teammates and Coach with a head held high. No one left me behind, and these guys? They won’t leave us behind, either.”

Fubuki was silent, taking in what he was told. Yoru felt like he should fel some sort of relief that he was being listened to, but it couldn’t stop the bad feelings roaming around in his chest, waiting to take over. Would it be better to force him back into the caravan, or let him work things out at his own pace and do what he felt was right?

Yoru sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. If he tried to force Fubuki back into the caravan, what would keep him from simply coming back once Yoru was asleep?

“Listen, if you want to stay down here and practice, I won’t stop you.”

Fubuki’s head shot up, eyes wide as he stared at Yoru. “Really?”

“Really. I just… I just want you to take care of yourself! Both of you are pushing yourself to the limit, and it’s scary. I’d much rather you come up top with me and we go back to sleep.” As he spoke he pointed towards the door, a faint smile spreading across his lips for a moment. “You can do what you want though.”

“Thank you.”

Yoru smiled, “Which one of you was that? Shiro, or Atsuya?”

“Both.” Fubuki said softly, finally smiling an honest smile for the first time in three days. “Both of us are thanking you.”

\----

The next day, Epsilon appeared in the practice center.

Yoru tried his best to keep his gaze away from them. Their glows felt so much more potent than before, and he was afraid to look at them, unsure of what he’d see or how long he’d be able to look.

“The time has come! I’ve given you ten days. Show me how strong you’ve gotten in that time.” Desarm said, and a platform rose, exposing a soccer field that had been hidden away.

“A field was hidden underground?”

“This really does belong to Aliea Academy!”

The group made their way onto the field, and Yoru still refused to look at Epsilon as Desarm gave his little speech to Japan. “Yukimura, you’ll be sitting out so Urabe can play, alright?” Coach Hitomiko said calmly. Although it sent a stab through Yoru’s heart that, once again, he was taken away from his chance to play, he couldn’t help but feel some relief over the fact he wouldn’t have to focus on Aliea even when it got to be too much. So, he bit his tongue and nodded in agreement.

“What? But what if we need Avalanche?” Kidou asked, brows furrowed with concern. Yoru smiled at the strategist.

“You’ve been training, you should be fine. If you really want me to go out there with you guys, wait and see what happens in the first half, at least.” Yoru risked a glance towards Epsilon, wincing as the glows made his eyes burn a lot faster than they should. “I’d be way more of a hindrance on the field than you think-- it’s safer if I stayed on the sidelines for now, since we have more than enough players.”

“If you say so,” Endou said with a small frown. “But you really would be lots of help.”

“Urabe can handle it!” Yoru said happily, giving the girl a thumb’s up and a smile. He had faith that they could beat Epsilon, even if it hurt that he couldn’t be out there to help them. “She completed the training with you guys, after all.”

“Yukimura,” Fubuki said softly, stepping closer when the others looked away, concern in his eyes. Yoru wondered if he could see right through the cheer, or if he was afraid of going out there without someone he knew he’d score with. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Yoru smiled reassuringly at him, nodding. “I’ll be fine! I’m sorry I won’t be out there on the field with you.” He said gently, smile softening. “I want to ease your burden, but I’m afraid my injury won’t let me.” He patted Fubuki’s shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t overwork yourself.”

Fubuki nodded, looking unsure even as he went out onto the pitch with the rest when it was time to start the match. Yoru closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the blinding sickness of Epsilon’s glows.

It was worse than he expected; the oppressive choking air of their glows nearly completely snuffing out the glows surrounding even Raimon. Yoru shuddered, and although he hadn’t wanted to, his gaze slid over to Fubuki. Shiro was still nearly engulfed by Atsuya, the both of them scared, terrified as Shiro tried to fight back. There was a wide gap between the two each time they moved back from the clash, and instead of calmly mixing together and blending as if they were paint, they lashed out, fighting and attacking like wild animals in Shirou’s mind as the match went on.

Yoru gulped. Why did Coach Hitomiko refuse to listen to him? How could he save Shirou from himself? Was he even allowed to do it, or was he stuck on the sidelines; forced to watch as Shirou fought against his demons and lost each time his fear reared its ugly head and Desarm blocked the shoot again and again?

“Shirou…” He murmured without even realizing it, hands curled around the edge of the seat too tightly as Atsuya kept trying to score against Desarm; adding more and more power to Eternal Blizzard and his glow becoming more blue and yellow until Atsuya’s aura was no longer red-orange and black.

Atsuya was unstable; afraid and pushing too far to be perfect, to prove his worth, while Shiro lost the battle to signify his existence.

A blinding flash sparked in front of Yoru’s eyes and he blinked, gasping softly in surprise as he realized just what happened. The match was already over?

He got up, rushing over to where Atsuya was being let go of. Atsuya let out a strangled scream before it was roughly cut off. Yoru’s heart lurched when one of Fubuki’s eyes was sharp amber while the other was a sleepy blue-grey. “Fubuki…”

“Hey… Are you okay?” Endou asked, reaching out a hand as if he wanted to comfort Fubuki.

Fubuki dropped his arms, Shiro slipping into place once again as he responded almost blankly. “I’m fine. Sorry I couldn’t score another point.”

Yoru watched Fubuki leave sadly; his heart racing in what he really wished wasn’t fear but probably was. He couldn’t watch Fubuki tear himself apart like this, but he didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t able to get through to Fubuki, and Coach Hitomiko was determined to keep him on the team. Yoru clenched his hands into fists as he grit his teeth, trying to stop the faint tremble he could feel spreading through his body.

He didn’t know what to do.

\----

The stars were dimmer here than in Hokkaido, Yoru noticed vaguely.

He was on top of the caravan, legs and arms spread out as if he was going to make a snow angel on his sleeping bag. They were spending one last night in Osaka, and Yoru had yet to be able to get to sleep. His mind couldn’t stop racing, thoughts of Shiro and Atsuya and the heavy feeling that came with them clouding his exhausted mind. He was scared.

Would he lose his closest friend(s) to his own mind?

He sighed heavily, bringing his hands to his face and scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Fubuki Shirou will be okay…” He murmured, “Fubuki Shirou will be okay… Atsuya and Shiro will figure things out, it won’t turn bad….”

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth, as if even they knew they were lies.

He took a deep breath, pressing the heels of his hands even harder to his eyes until he could see faint colors forming behind his eyelids. Tears burned behind his eyes, threatening to fall, and he shook his head. “Fubuki Shiro will be okay. Fubuki Atsuya will be okay. Fubuki _Shirou_ will be okay. They’ll _all_ be okay.” He continued to repeat like a mantra, even as tears started to slip past his eyelids and fall from the corners of his eyes to his hairline.

Even as he tried to convince himself Fubuki would get better, his heart knew that things would only get worse, and all Yoru could do was watch.

The heaviness in his chest only continued to grow, until Yoru was silently crying on top of the caravan, his heart aching at the thought of the one he cared for most losing the battle he had been fighting with himself.

He hadn’t felt this helpless in years.


	15. Chapter 14: The Broken Mirror

“Yukimura, are you okay?”

No, in fact. Yoru was far from okay. He barely slept the night before and his eyes were _still_ burning after the match with Epsilon. Was everything duller than normal, too? He couldn’t tell. His mother didn’t pick her phone up when he called a little while ago, either, which meant his questions about his eyes had to wait until she called him back. Plus, to make matter worse, his leg decided today was going to be one of the _very_ bad days and it was already driving him a little insane.

He was not, however, about to tell that to the girls and grown man staring at him with worried eyes as they went about making breakfast. He plastered a smile onto his face, giving them a small nod. “Yes, I’m alright, Aki.” He said softly, looking at all four of them. “I’m just a little tired this morning.”

“If you want to rest more, you can!” Otonashi said quickly, frowning. “You shouldn’t overwork yourself!”

Yoru laughed softly, giving her a reassuring smile. “No, really, I’m alright. I can finish helping you with breakfast and cleaning up after, like normal. We’re heading to Fukouka today, right? I have plenty of time to nap during the ride.”

“Yukimura, you shouldn’t push yourself, either.” Furukabu said softly, the same gentle concern in his voice that there was when Yoru and Hitomiko were arguing. Yoru laughed lightly instead of answering, which made Furukabu frown. “I’ve looked at your file with Coach Hitomiko. You’re known to overwork yourself.”

Yoru blushed in embarrassment and let out another, weaker laugh. “Please, Furukabu… I’ll be fine. What can I do to overwork myself when we’ll be in a car most of the day?”

“I suppose you can’t.” Furukabu conceded, fixing a stern glare onto Yoru as he set down one of the pots they’d need. “But you need to tell us if something’s wrong, okay? We don’t want you to get hurt or collapse.”

Ah, great, now Yoru felt even worse about keeping this from them. “I’m fine.” He said simply, and he made sure they didn’t bring it up again.

When Fubuki came out of the caravan, Yoru offered him a small smile, which was returned weakly. There was an awkward air that Yoru hoped only he was feeling; he wanted to try and break it, but he was scared to say something wrong. He couldn’t figure out what Fubuki was feeling right now, and his mind just kept returning to their stupid arguments when they should have been having a calm talk about everything Fubuki was feeling.

He wasn’t sure why he, or Coach Hitomiko, thought he could help Fubuki, but if the past few days were anything to look at, he was doing an absolutely awful job of it.

Maybe it would be better if he didn’t really talk to Fubuki for a while. Gave him space to work through what was going through his head.

If only it didn’t make his heart hurt so much at the same time.

He thought about this as he wandered back into the caravan to rifle through his bag and slip one of the travel bottles of painkillers he had brought into his pocket when he was sure no one was awake or looking. He left the caravan quietly, thoughts still focused on how to go about the current problem as he grabbed his water bottle from the tables he had helped Furukabu set up earlier that morning. He walked a little into the tree line that bordered the parking lot of the amusement park, making sure the others couldn’t see him as he pulled out the bottle of pills from his pocket.

He stared at them for a few minutes, sighing heavily. They weren’t going to help; he already knew they weren’t. They never did on the very bad days. At this point, he was just wasting them by taking them.

His mind wandered to the times he had nearly sobbed from the pain in his leg, which was close to rivalling the pain he was feeling right now. He decided that if the pain killers could keep him from outright sobbing in front of the others now that there were no places for him to hide away, then he’d take them. He let out another sigh and placed two of the pills on his tongue, taking a long drink of water to wash them down.

\----

Yoru knew he should have been trying to mend whatever cracked between him and Fubuki the day before-- not talking to him at all was as oddly painful as it was necessary-- but he was in pain, tired, and he was trying so, _so_ hard to keep the fact his leg felt like it was on fire and his limp had returned full force from the others. So, really, mending the cracks that had snapped their way into his friendship with Fubuki was the last thing on his mind.

He couldn’t afford being taken off the team if Coach Hitomiko saw his current behavior as unnecessary. He couldn’t afford being separated from Fubuki- not when they were like this.

The ride to Yokato Junior High passed by in a blur of frequently uneasy naps and a throbbing pain crawling up his leg even after taking the painkillers earlier. At some point, the blurriness that had touched his vision disappeared, and a minor weight that had been on his chest since the match ended was lifted. He could breathe a little easier, now, but the fact he needed to ask his mother about it didn’t disappear.

When they got to the school, Yoru joined the rest of the team outside the caravan while Endou, Natsumi, and Hitomiko followed the chairman to his office. With the captain and coach gone, the others decided to practice while waiting for them to get back. Yoru sat down on the nearby bench with Aki and Otonashi, trying very hard not to wince as he did and rubbing at his leg a little.

A little while later, and Endou was coming back out with an excited grin on his face and a skip to his step. Not too far behind were Natsumi and Coach Hitomiko. “Endou!” Kazemaru called, grinning. “How’d it go?”

Endou ran over, barely containing his excitement. “We got his notebook!”

Yoru smiled and tuned out the rest of the conversation, feeling it wasn't his place to hear, and looked back towards the door as the chairman and the Yokato soccer team walked out. He hummed, watching them come over and introduce themselves. At their goal keeper’s introduction, Yoru couldn’t help but giggle. Poor kid was so nervous it was almost adorable.

He joined the rest of the team on the sidelines when Tachimukai showed them his goalkeeping technique, using the chance to see what Tachimukai’s glow looked like.

Tachimukai’s glow was bright and innocent, just like Endou’s, and was cloaked in an earthy brown, red intermingling between the brown and white. A vibrant, friendly soul that was just as innocent and passionate about soccer as Endou was.

It made the fact he could also use God Hand all the more fitting as his glow flared and grew while he summoned it.

“Endou… You’ve got yourself a rival among rivals.” He said with a small laugh after Rika commented anyone how anyone could have done it before being reprimanded by Kazemaru. “He’s got your innocence and passion towards soccer down to the last drop.”

“How can you tell?” Kidou asked curiously, and Yoru smiled, tapping the corner of his gold eye.

“I can see it.” He said with a small hum. “Just like I can see everyone else’s, or the habits and openings of teams during matches.”

“I still don’t get how you do that.” Kidou admitted with a small frown. “I need these goggles to have better perception of the field and things around me, but you can see these things from the sidelines?”

Yoru laughed, smiled and shrugging his shoulders lightly. “It’s a family thing. My grandpa could do it too- better than me, actually. We just… have really good eyes, I guess.” He said, giving Kidou a little white lie.

Kidou hummed thoughtfully, but before he could say anything else, the teams decided to start practicing. Yoru grinned, watching and helping where he thought needed.

When Endou got hit in the face with the ball, the teams decided it would probably be smart to take a short break.

“Yukimura, is something wrong?” Domon asked after a few minutes, when Yoru was admittedly standing on shaking legs as his bad leg screamed at him to sit, lay down, _anything_ , except move and put weight on it. It took a lot more that Yoru wanted to be able smile like nothing was wrong.

“I’m okay.” He explained simply, and Domon definitely gave him a look that said he didn’t believe him in the slightest. “Really! I’m okay.” He repeated with a weak laugh. “Why do you ask, anyway?”

“Well, for one thing, you and Fubuki haven’t been talking since the match a couple days ago. For another, you’ve seemed like you were in pain since this morning.”

Yoru’s smile faltered before turning into a grimace. He looked around, glad no one else was near or paying attention, and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just… letting Fubuki work some things out right now. I may have pushed too hard on something, so I’m giving him a chance to breathe, I guess.”

“That doesn’t explain the fact you’ve been wincing most of the day.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around wearily once again before giving Domon a nervous smile. “Promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you?” He asked, and after a moment Domon gave a hesitant nod, worry in his eyes.

Yoru bit his lip, debating how to go about telling him. After a few moments, he decided the best way was to just say it straight out. “My bad leg is killing me.” He said with a sigh, looking down at the ground. “See, I have good days, bad days, and _very_ bad days. Today is a very bad day.”

“Seriously? Dude, if you don’t feel good you shouldn’t be forcing yourself.” Domon said, the worry in his expression only growing as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You look like you’re about to collapse, if I‘m being honest.”

Yoru laughed weakly, waving off his concern. “I can handle it, Domon. Besides, if I did tell the others, what would happen? I’m not going to just laze around in the caravan while you guys train and everything. That’s just rude.”

Domon sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment and shaking his head. “Yukimura, this is serious. You’ve been standing and walking around the field for hours!” He bit his lip for a moment before leaning down and whispering, “Fubuki’s worried about you, too.”

Yoru was quiet for a while, an ache in his chest at the fact Fubuki had apparently been able to see right through his act even when he should be worried about himself. ‘Of course he had known,’ He thought, biting his lip, ‘Fubuki always knows.’

“Just-- Just don’t tell anyone. Please.” Yoru said softly, lightly kicking at the ground and fighting back a wince as it sent harsh shocks of pain up his leg. “I really don’t want them to know about this.”

“… Yukimura, overworking yourself won’t help.” Domon said softly, and Yoru nodded.

“I know, and I won’t. I just… I don’t _like_ people knowing these things. I want to deal with them myself- they’re my problems, not anyone else’s.”

Domon let out a small laugh then, a smile slipping onto his face. “You know, you reminded me a bit of Ichinose. He’s the same way.”

Yoru did laugh then, nodding. “You must be getting tired of hearing it, then.”

“Nah, I don’t mind.” Domon said, shrugging slightly as they started heading towards the soccer pitch. “Just wish you guys would feel comfortable sharing with others about it. It sucks, watching you guys keep it all bottled inside.”

Yoru hummed thoughtfully, nodding slightly. “Yeah… I know.” He admitted, looking down again before looking at Domon and smiling honestly at him. “Ichinose’s lucky to have you as a friend, Domon.”

\----

When practice was finally over and everyone was rehydrating and cooling down after a good, fun practice, Yoru grabbed his own water bottle and snuck away to take more painkillers. Burning pain was shooting up his leg with every step, bringing tears to his eyes, and he could swear he was feeling his bones pop and tendons stretch painfully each time he moved as well.

He went down as far as he dared, until he was sure the others couldn’t see him as he went around a stairwell, leaning against the wall. He took a deep, steadying breath, trying not to let the tears burning behind his eyes come to the surface. He couldn’t afford to be caught crying.

He pulled the travel bottle of pills from his pocket and placed two of them on his tongue like he had this morning, taking another drink of water to wash them down.

“Yukimura.”

Yoru jumped, coughing on water and hissing as pain rocketed up his leg. Tears sprung to his eyes and he bit back a whimper, knees buckling under him almost immediately as his legs finally gave out. He dropped to the ground, barely managing to grab the edge of the stairwell with his left hand to keep himself from falling completely. He rubbed at his injured leg, glaring up at Fubuki. “Damn it, Fubuki!” He whined, taking a deep breath as he rubbed at his shin, trying not to shake as his fingers felt an almost violent heat through his pant leg. “Why’d you scare me like that?!”

“Sorry!” Fubuki apologized quickly, rushing the short distance over to Yoru and kneeling beside him, expression guilty. “I thought you knew I was there!” He reached over and Yoru hissed as his cold hands touched his leg. Fubuki’s hand shot back almost immediately, eyes widening. “Yoru, this-“

“I know,” Yoru groaned, letting his head hit the wall behind him with a dull thud. “I know; my leg is _actually_ burning. It usually is on the days like today.”

“You need to tell them.” Fubuki scolded quietly, even as he rolled Yoru’s pant leg up and started massaging it without so much as asking Yoru if it was alright to do. Yoru’s stomach flipped at the sight of the scar running up his leg and he quickly looked elsewhere, blinking away tears. “We may be in the caravan all day, most days, but you and I both know sitting so long won’t help this much, either.”

Yoru shook his head, really not wanting to tell the others. “No, I’ll be fine, really.”

“You’re never fine on your really bad days.” Fubuki stated, looking at Yoru unimpressed. Yoru gulped nervously. “I swear, you’re worse than Atsuya with this stuff sometimes.”

Yoru was quiet for a while, trembling and unable to look away as Fubuki worked away at his leg as carefully as he dared. “…Why are you still talking to me?” He asked softly. “I-I just made things worse for you in Osaka, didn’t I?”

Fubuki sighed and he leaned over, flicking Yoru’s forehead. Yoru flinched, pouting at Fubuki. “Really now,” He huffed, rolling his eyes. “You were giving me a push I needed to hear.” He admitted softly, before looking down. His fingers moved to trail lightly along Yoru’s scar, the gentle touches making Yoru shiver. “Atsuya and I just… aren’t really able to understand. It’s scary to think about, so we don’t.” He was quiet for a while longer, but Yoru made no move to speak.

“...We’re grateful that you want to help, but I think we need to figure it out ourselves from here.” He said softly, eyes saddened. Yoru’s heart ached once again, mostly for Fubuki and only partly for the guilt he felt in not being able to help.

“Fubuki?” Yoru began softly, ignoring how his voice shook as he tried to get Fubuki to look at him. When Fubuki was looking at him again, Yoru gave him a hesitant smile. “Whatever you choose to do, I’ll be beside you all the way. Just… know that both Shiro and Atsuya have their own strengths, and neither of you deserve to disappear.”

Fubuki stared at Yoru with wide eyes for a few minutes, lips parted slightly in surprise. Yoru smiled shyly, holding out his arms. “…Hug? You look like you need a hug.”

Fubuki laughed, rolling his eyes a bit as he moved closer and gave Yoru a gentle hug. “You’re the one that needs a hug, silly.” He teased, “You’ve looked like you were on the verge of tears since before Endou got hit in the face with the ball earlier today.”

“We both need the hug.” Yoru said with a laugh, dropping his head onto his shoulder as he hugged Fubuki in return. His chest felt lighter than it had all day. “You can talk to me about anything, you know? I’m always here if you need me.”

“I know… This is just something Atsuya and I have to figure out ourselves.”

“I know.”

\----

The feeling of his phone vibrating in his pocket was what finally dragged Yoru from his comfortable position on the reclined seats of the caravan while the rest of Raimon started dropping off into sleep.

Fubuki had gone to look at the stars at the top of the caravan, saying that he needed to think about things. The solemn air around him had returned soon after dinner, his mind probably having wandered towards Atsuya again. Yoru had asked if he had wanted the company, but Fubuki declined.

Yoru let him go.

Now, he was leaving the caravan, answering the call and sort of hopping further away since his leg was still disagreeing rather harshly with his movements.

“Mom?” He whispered into the phone as he passed the girls’ tent.

“Yoru!” His mom’ gentle voice sighed from the other end of the phone. “Thank goodness! I got your message, but couldn’t catch a break to call!”

Yoru laughed softly, smiling as he continued to speak quietly. “It’s okay... I think. My vision’s back to normal now.”

“Sleeping helped?”

“Mhm. It was weird though, Mom… I’ve never seen a glow as sickly as Aliea’s, or one that hurts my eyes that badly.” Yoru explained, rubbing his eyes lightly from just the memory of his blurred vision. “Did Grandpa ever…?”

“Not like that, no…” Mom trailed off in thought, and Yoru could imagine her biting her knuckle. “There _was_ one time he experienced temporary blindness.” She admitted. “But your vision blurring and staying that way for over 24 hours?” Even she sounded skeptical that they’d find a simple solution or explanation to this. “Sweetie, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Is there anything in the records grandpa had?” He asked softly, voice cracking slightly. He was scared of what could happen. “Because if it’s a normal match, my vision is fine. Aliea Academy’s glow is what hurts, and the stronger they get, the more it hurts... I don’t want to just- just _leave_ , mom. I want to help, and I can’t be on the field, so- so this is all I can do. So far, I've been terrible at it.”

“I’ll look through them and call back if I can find something, but I really think the safest option would be to _not_ use your ability, Yoru.” His mom said softly, understanding in her voice. “I don’t want you to be hurt because of this, sweetie, and if it already hurts to look at them without your ability…”

“Coach will kick me off the team if I don’t, though.” He said softly, looking at the ground. “She won’t think I’m useful and she’ll kick me off without so much as a glance. They don’t need me as a reserved player, and they already have three other managers besides me. I’ve already been unhelpful for all of Epsilon’s matches.”

“You help them train.” His mother pointed out kindly, “Sweetie, she won’t kick you off if you just explain what’s going on.”

“I sound crazy to them, mom.” Yoru stated simply, and his mother laughed.

“Even the craziest of things can be considered true, if spoken with it.”

The conversation went dead, then, a calm silence settling over the two as Yoru thought about what to say next. “… I’m scared.” He admitted. “Fubuki’s going through a hard time and I can’t help him, which is _another_ thing Coach Hitomiko seems to think I can help with but I can't, I might be going _blind_ because of Aliea, and- and what if Epsilon wasn’t the last team? What if there are people even stronger than them?”

“Then you keep fighting,” His mom said confidently. “You keep fighting and take as good care of your eyes and leg as you can. We’ll all be cheering for you and Fubuki. You guys can get through this.” The conversation fell away again, before his mom spoke up once more. “Is Fubuki alright? Poor dear looked like he was struggling last match.”

Yoru weighed his next words carefully. “He’s… figuring things out. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, I think… but…. he’s working on getting better.”

“Well, let him know we hope he feels better soon, we’re cheering for you guys, and Hyuuga hopes to talk to him soon. I need to go now, sweetie. You need to get your rest.”

“Will do, mom. Tell dad I say hi, and let Natsume know I’ll call them soon.”

“Got it. Night, Yoru.”

“Goodnight, mom.”

The called ended and Yoru sighed, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. He looked around, and at the sight of Endou and Tachimukai having joined Fubuki on the roof, sighed. Great, he couldn’t just limp or hop back to the caravan. He just _had_ to walk normally now on the off chance they saw him, didn’t he?

With a wince, he turned around to the caravan and walked back. Half of him wanted to go talk to Fubuki, but the other half was ready for sleep and knew that his leg, in its current state, would disagree very strongly with trying to climb to the roof.

“Ah, Yukimura!” Endou called, leaning over the short guardrail. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine, Endou!” Yoru called up, smiling. “You three be sure to get some sleep, okay?”

“Right!”

Fubuki gave Yoru a thumbs up before his hand dropped back down, the motion feeling just as exhausted as Fubuki looked. Yoru’s heart clenched; he seemed so sad up there, back turned to Endou and Tachimukai as the two goal keepers conversed over the notebook Endou’s grandpa had left.

He wished Fubuki could be happy with himself again.

\----

“Fubuki, I want you to be our forward.” Hitomiko said at the start of the practice match the next day.

“Okay.” Fubuki responded, all excitement drained from his voice. The others didn’t seem to notice, and Rika told him to show them the same stuff he did during Epsilon. Yoru bit his lip, meeting Fubuki’s gaze before they got into place.

“Have fun?” He mouthed, giving him a hopeful smile, and Fubuki tried to return it, but it fell short. He didn’t look happy, or excited. He just looked sad.

Yoru was pretty sure he felt his heart break.

He was looking right into a mirror.


	16. Chapter 15: A Push to The Edge Is Still a Push

“Coach.” Yoru said softly, pulling not only Coach Hitomiko’s attention to him, but also the girls’. “You need to see this is a bad idea.” He didn’t care who heard, this time. His eyes were only focused on Fubuki, watching as his friend fumbled far too often and hardly seemed to be able to focus on the game, lost in his own head.

“I told you, Yukimura. He’s staying on.”

“He’s _drowning_.”

“That changes nothing.”

“Coach, please!” Yoru finally looked away, staring at Coach Hitomiko with pleading eyes. “He’s going to get hurt, you need to realize this!”

“He’s staying on.” Hitomiko said, tone filled to the brim with finality, and as much as Yoru wanted to retaliate, he bit his tongue. The managers were staring at the two like they were some fancy science experiment they wanted to dissect and figure out what was going on beneath the surface.

“Damn it, this is so stupid!" He hissed, clenching his teeth and digging his nails into his palms. "You want me to help him yet you refuse to listen to a word I say! Wouldn't  _that_ be helping him best?!"

"I told you to help him by keeping him in a good mental state."

"I can't do that if you keep making him either a defender or a forward! Do you not understand that  _that's_ what's best?!"

"That is  _enough_ , Yukimura!" Coach Hitomiko snapped, calm and collected but eyes burning with fire. "I'm the one calling the shots here and Fubuki. Stays. On."

Yoru growled, anger and desperation clawing its way up his throat. Why couldn't she see Fubuki was breaking apart? He couldn't stay on the team as he was currently, no matter what Yoru said or did. So why did Hitomiko seem to fight so hard against the very thing she told Yoru she needed him for?

\----- 

Yoru frowned, knowing Fubuki had come this way but not quite sure where he had gone. He wanted to see if Fubuki was okay, because during the practice match he was definitely out of it, and it seemed like Atsuya and Shiro were still fighting.

He knew he had told Fubuki that he’d let him work it out on his own, but he desperately wanted to keep him safe and see him smile again. If Yoru had to get Fubuki’s mind away from Atsuya, Shiro, perfection, and his other demons for just a little bit to do it, he was damn well determined to try.

“I know, I’ll shoot in the next game.” Fubuki’s voice carried from the bathroom, a tone in it that made Yoru's blood turn to ice. That didn't sound like the Fubuki he knew; it was too cold, too...manic, almost. Yoru peeked around the corner, a shiver running up his spine at the scary look on Fubuki’s face, his eyes slowly turning amber. “Atsuya, isn’t that a good idea?”

Yoru quickly pressed himself against the wall outside the bathroom, heart racing in fear as the air around Fubuki seemed to grow more unstable. Was Fubuki really…?

He shook his head, closing his eyes tightly. No. He had to have faith in Fubuki. He had to believe that Fubuki was going to be okay, that he wasn’t going to fall prey to his demons.

The sound of Fubuki starting to walk out of the bathroom snapped Yoru from his thoughts, and he quickly moved away from the wall, acting like nothing was wrong as he smiled at Fubuki. “Ah, there you are! I’ve been looking for you!” He said as cheerfully as he could, holding up his phone as he studied Fubuki's face. All signs of the scary expression and Atsuya’s eyes were gone, leaving Shiro here in his wake. “I was thinking we give Hyouga a call?”

Fubuki smiled lightly, nodding. It didn't reach his eyes. “Sounds like fun.”

“Good. You talk first, alright? Let’s surprise him.”

\----

Yoru was nearly choking on the heavy, foreboding atmosphere that was caked over the soccer field. The sky, cloaked by dark clouds, threatening to bring rain. Yoru looked up at it, frowning slightly as he took in the sight. Would it storm?

His gaze went from the sky to the players stretching out in front of him. Just who was it they were playing against today? Endou said that it was a friend he made, but something about this seemed… odd. Especially as Coach Hitomiko walked over to their captain and asked if the boy’s name really was Hiroto.

A dark fog began to roll in before he could question this game any further; Yoru shuddered as the oppressive feeling that he had come to pair with Aliea Academy pressed down on him.

“No way.” He murmured softly, almost immediately wincing and looking away as a group of people appeared- far stronger than Epsilon. Their glows were the sickest ones yet; a blinding dark and poisonous purple that, he was sure of without even activating his ability, overpowered the entirety of their glows _and_ the ones around them. Yoru’s eyes burned just looking at the faded edges of their glows that spread out at their feet, as if he was looking at the sun.

His stomach rolled at the thought of looking at their glows with his power activated. He was certain it’d be even worse than what he could already see.

“Hiroto… you’re an alien?” Endou asked, disbelief clear in his voice even as resolve started to take over.

“Now then, Endou. Let’s play soccer.” The redheaded captain of the team-- _Hiroto’s_ \-- voice was calm, perfectly aware of the shock Raimon had received.

“What’s going on?” Domon asked, “Why is Endou’s friend a part of Aliea Academy?”

“It appears we’ve been deceived.” Megane said, adjusting his glasses. Yoru shook his head, slowly bringing his gaze up from the ground as he looked at Raimon.

“No… I… don’t think that’s the case. How can we have been deceived when we only know that he plays soccer and his name is Hiroto?” He asked, “He honestly just wants to play soccer with us. He happens to be from Aliea.”

“What makes you so sure?” Tachimukai asked, looking over. Yoru shrugged.

“He doesn’t feel like he’s been deceiving Endou.” He explained slowly, risking a glance towards Hiroto and his teammates. “He doesn’t feel like the rest of Aliea, at all.” It was the truth, too. Epsilon and Gemini Storm had felt power hungry from the moment they appeared; eager to destroy a team weaker than them and then get rid of the school in their way. Hiroto and his team, though.... well, the team gave off the same air as the other Aliea teams, but Hiroto felt like he was just eager to play and learn more about Endou and how they played.

“You’re right,” Hiroto said softly, smiling at the group. “I just want to play soccer with you people. Show me what your soccer is like.”

The conversation continued, but Yoru tuned it out in favor of trying to find some place to look that wasn't attempting to kill his eyes, more focused on wanting to keep his eyes from burning and vision from going blurry.

The teams started getting prepared for the game a few moments later, Fubuki going off to the bathroom. Yoru was almost certain it was to talk to Atsuya.

_I’ll shoot in the next game_.

Yoru felt a chill run down his spine as Fubuki’s voice from the night before echoed through his thoughts. He had never heard or seen him like that before. It was… scary.

He looked over to the others before looking at Genesis, fighting against the urge to look away. This… this might end badly.

“… I think you should put me in.” He said softly, causing the majority of the team to look at him in confusion. He could already feel a disapproving gaze on his back from Coach Hitomiko.

“Wait, what?” Kidou asked, and Yoru repeated what he had said.

“I think you should put me in.” He repeated, looking at Kidou. “They’re strong… incredibly so. It might be too one-sided if…” He paused, shaking his head a moment later as he corrected himself. “You’ll need Avalanche.” He said instead, biting the inside of his cheek as he wondered if they would even be able to use that with Shiro and Atsuya fighting each other like they were. Still, it was the only thing he could think of that would get the two to realize they were  _both_ important.

“We don’t even know what they’re capable of,” Kidou explained instead, frowning. He looked like he was seriously considering the idea, but Yoru's condition was probably keeping him from agreeing. “What makes you so certain you’ll make a difference?”

Kidou had him, there. Yoru sighed, looking down. “I don’t know.” He admitted quietly, kicking at the ground. “I’m not certain I’ll make a difference,” He sighed, looking back at Kidou. “But I’ve got strong shoots, and if Fubuki’s Eternal Blizzard- the one shoot that you guys rely on most- isn’t enough to get past _Epsilon_ , then the chances it gets passed Genesis’ shoots is even less unless I can add my power to it.”

Kidou was quiet as he thought about it. Eventually he sighed, nodding slowly. “Alright… If we need the help, we’ll put you in for the second half.” He looked at Coach for approval, and to Yoru's surprise, she nodded.

Fubuki came back at that moment, giving Yoru the chance to quickly activate his ability. He bit his lip when he saw how Shiro and Atsuya were spreading even further apart, an actual, gaping chasm stretched between them as they continued to fight. Shiro was continuing to struggle against Atsuya, but both were colored with a dark, sickly yellow at their cores. They were disastrously unstable now, he noticed, swallowing around a lump in his throat.

“Fubuki,” He murmured, stepping forward when the others were leaving for their places on the field. He dropped his voice to a whisper as he caught Fubuki’s eyes. “Shiro, Atsuya…. You guys remember what I said, right? Don’t force yourself, please.”

“I need to do this.” Fubuki said just as softly. “I need to prove I can do this without Atsuya’s help.”

“Shiro, you and Atsuya--“ Yoru cut himself off, remembering the promise he had made a few days ago. He had to stop pushing; let them figure it out themselves “I might be able to play in the second half.” He said instead, “So… I hope we can perform Avalanche, if we do.”

He highly doubted they would, watching as Fubuki went to his place beside Rika on the pitch. Yoru fought back against the fear and worry that made his stomach twist nauseously into knots.

If only he could be out there with him now-- maybe Fubuki wouldn’t be stretching himself so painfully far.

As the game began, Yoru braced himself for the pain this glance would bring to his eyes, and once again activated his ability. He hissed quietly in pain as the sickly purple glow shrouded every square inch of Genesis’ side of the field and continued to creep towards Raimon’s side. It was blinding.

He rubbed his left eye for a brief moment as it seemed to burn more than the other, trying hard to focus and catch habits of the other team. They were incredibly fast- almost inhumanly so, and it made it difficult to focus on where the ball was, much less the habits of the players.

Hiroto-- no, _Gran_ , managed to score within the first minute of the game, the purple flaring and wrapping around him like a parasite. Yoru would have laughed at how surprised Hiroto was over the fact Endou was unable to block it, if it wasn’t for a sharp pain behind his eyes.

He let out a small whimper and closed his eyes, blinking them a few times as he tried to get the pain to disperse. He stared at his feet for a moment, letting them refocus. When he thought it was safe again he reactivated his ability, looking for habits or patterns once again.

Instead, he saw Kazemaru’s gentle blue and beige glow flood with sickly yellow and sludge-like pink, while Atsuya flared and Shiro tried to fight him off, making their gap widen even further.

Raimon was steadily falling apart, player by player, as Gran continued to score point after point; the power difference was clear.

Yoru had been afraid it would come to this.

His heart nearly tore itself into pieces as Shiro and Atsuya fought for the ball, Atsuya taking over before Shirou took it back and neither able to score a point with so little power in the shoot. Yoru was gripping the bench beneath himself so hard his fingers had gone numb.

“Oh, Shirou….” He whispered, heart aching for his friend. “I knew this would happen, and yet….” He closed his eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness behind his eyelids before slowly opening them and looking over to Coach Hitomiko. He ignored how his vision was blurred, instead focusing on the woman watching the game with an unwavering gaze.

“Coach,” He said, loud enough only for her to hear, even though he knew it was pointless. “Please.”

Coach Hitomiko said nothing, making Yoru grit his teeth. “He’s breaking. You _have_ to see that.” He begged, voice breaking. “Please, you need to take him off the team for now!”

Still, nothing.

“Coach!”

“Fubuki!” The cries of Fubuki’s name from the managers of the team made Yoru’s attention snap back to the game, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Fubuki ran straight into Gran’s hissatsu technique with a shout, and was knocked unconscious.

“Fubuki!” Yoru shouted, rushing out onto the field and dropping to his knees beside him, his hands hovering over his prone form as the rest of the team swarmed over them Faintly, he could hear Tachimukai say he was going to call for an ambulance, but all Yoru could hear was blood rushing to his ears.

“Fubuki, please wake up!”

 Yoru didn’t touch Fubuki, afraid he would somehow make his condition worse. He noticed Aliea's poisonous glow in the corner of his eye, and even though Fubuki was his top priority he couldn't stop himself from looking over. Gran stood there, just out of the way, worry in his gaze. Yoru felt like he should be mad at the boy; he was the one who's hissatsu hurt Fubuki. Instead, he felt only emptiness at the thought of being angry at him; this wasn't Gran's fault. Fubuki had just... broken. The dam burst and he acted out of pure fear.

If anything, it was probably Yoru's fault, for bringing him even more burden to bear.

Yoru looked away as Gran and his team left, the flash accompanying the disappearance blurring his vision even further and bringing hot tears to eyes for a moment. He looked back at Fubuki, biting his lip. Bruises were already starting to form; a scrape on his cheek lightly beading with blood. Without really thinking about it, he licked his thumb and reached over, running his thumb across the cut as gently as possible. The blood wiped away with ease. Fubuki didn't so much as stir.

"He's exhausted..." Yoru mumbled, taking note of the dark circles under Fubuki's eyes.

He wished he felt surprised.

It didn't take long for the ambulance to get there, and after they took Fubuki away the team ran for the caravan to be taken to the hospital. Watching the ambulance drive off, the empty feeling was replaced by a white hot anger. This could have been avoided. It could have never happened in the first place if  _someone_ had just  _listened_ to him.

"...Yukimura, I--"

Speak of the devil.

Yoru whirled around, the anger in his chest flaring as he took in the impassive expression on Coach Hitoiko's face. She didn't care.

“I knew this would happen!” He growled, trying his best to keep his voice down so as not to alert the others and clenching his hands into fists at his side. “I _told_ you this was pushing him to far! I _told_ you to take him off, so many times! How could you not see this coming!?”

“I told you, I need him.”

“He’s no good to anyone like this!” Yoru hissed, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation. “You are our _coach_! You protect your players- _not_ bring themselves to this point!” He ignored how his voice cracked as he started shouting at her, chest swelling painfully as he thought of all the pain Fubuki must be feeling. “You do _not_ let them fall prey to their minds like this! He’s been falling apart at the seams and you just _let him!_ ”

Yoru’s vision blurred even further and he hoped he hadn’t started crying, because his chest twisted while his heart clenched and he wasn’t sure he could stand showing so much of his weakness in front of Raimon. His chest was heaving, heavy with emotion as memories of his own pain mixed with what he knew Fubuki was feeling, knowing he could have helped him if he had just pushed harder for him to be taken off the team before it was too late.

Cold once again began seeping into his veins as that thought glued itself to the front of his mind.

'....I was the one who gave up first.'

Out loud, he said, “You do not deserve to be the coach of this team,” Vemon coated his words, digging in its talons, even as the anger drained and replaced itself with cold self-loathing he recognized far too well. “And as far as I’m concerned, you never have."

Hitomiko was silent.


	17. Chapter 16: When Everything Falls

When they were at the hospital, Yoru couldn’t feel as happy as he wanted to at the news Fubuki was going to be okay. He sat in a chair on Fubuki’s right side, studying him.

Fubuki looked pale against the white sheets, dark circles under his eyes and various scrapes and scratches here and there from his training and the hit he took. Bruises were forming as well, marring Fubuki’s complexion and making it look like he had survived a beating of his life. He looked far too small in the hospital bed.

His mind twisted the scene; flashing a glimpse of Yoru himself, unconscious and black and blue in a hospital bed not unlike the one fubuki was laying in right now. His heart wavered. Yoru bit his lip.

“Um, did Fubuki really do it just to take the ball?” Otonashi’s nervous voice pulled Yoru away from his thoughts, and he turned around to face the girl whose face was far too blurry for his liking.

“What do you mean?” Natsumi asked, and Otonashi looked down.

“U-Um, well… I thought…”

“What is it, Otonashi?” Endou asked softly, encouraging her to continue.

Otonashi looked away before taking a deep breath and saying, “He scared me a little.”

The rest of the team was stunned, but Yoru gave Otonashi a sympathetic smile. He knew just what she meant.

“The expression on his face as he went for it…” She continued, and Yoru could hear Hitomiko giving a small gasp of surprise from behind him that made his blood boil.

“Even when fighting Epsilon… There were plenty of times where his aura changed once he possessed the ball, but… At that time, he seemed strangely high-strung.”

Endou gasped then, “Actually, Fubuki asked me something once after our match against Epsilon. He wanted to know if he had acted strange. But I couldn’t answer him very well, so…” He fell silent for a moment. Yoru bit the inside of his cheek. “Maybe Fubuki has been really tormenting himself over something.”

“You know something about this, don’t you, Coach? Yukimura?” Kidou said, calm as ever, and Yoru looked down and away from the group, the hand resting next to Fubuki's balling up into a loose fist. Slowly, he gave the group a hesitant nod, not looking up as Coach Hitomiko explained what happened to the Fubuki family seven years ago. He let her tell the team about Fubuki and Atsuya, only stepping in when Kabeyama asked if it was possible to balance two personalities like that.

“…Technically, yes, it is.” He started quietly. The others all looked to him in surprise, probably thinking he wasn't going to say anything at all. “If you can get the personalities to merge together-- in a sense-- they become one person.” He finally looked up at the others, starting to talk with his hands as he explained. “Right now, the person Fubuki Shirou is split into two personalities; Atsuya,” He held out his right hand; palm up, “and Shiro.” He did the same to his left hand, holding them up in front of him. “If they were to find their perfect balance, they’d form Fubuki Shirou.” He moved his hands together, as if smushing the two personalities together.

He looked at the others, smiling sadly as he continued after parting his hands. “Until recently, they had found a delicate balance that kept them mostly together, with just a small crack between them. Shiro and Atsuya coexisted about as peacefully as they could get.

“Right now, Shiro and Atsuya are unstable. They’re unable to work together.” He moved his right hand higher into the air while he moved the left down closer to his lap. “Atsuya’s trying to take control. He’s scared, and it’s making him forget that they are a team. He’s the one that’s most unstable. Shiro isn’t far behind. He’s losing the fight against Atsuya, but he’s also not trying to work alongside him anymore. They’re both trying to become the sole personality.”

Yoru let his hands drop to his lap like they were made of lead, sighing. “I’ve been trying to get them to see they need to work together like the three of us do in Avalanche, but I’ve gotten as far as I can….” He looked to Fubuki then, aware of how his expression softened but unsure of what it truly looked like. The guilt in his heart was heavier than lead, dragging him further and further down. He wished he'd tried harder; maybe he could have done more if he had. “It’s all up to him, now. He needs to find the balance in his heart once again.”

“Wait, that’s it?” Aki said, looking from Yoru to Coach Hitomiko. “How can you-“ She grit her teeth before snapping at Coach, “Then why did you put Fubuki on the team? You knew about Fubuki’s past. That means you also should have known something like this would happen one day!”

“She wouldn’t listen.” Yoru said softly. “I wasn’t going to stop Fubuki from staying if he wanted to, because I know too well the damage that can cause, but I went to Coach multiple times to try and get her to see reason when I saw the toll this was beginning to take on Fubuki. I thought maybe she could convince him it'd be safer for himself if he took a step back from the fighting.” He glared at Hitomiko, then, the anger still biting into his skin. “What was it you were constantly saying?” Yoru asked almost mockingly, “Oh, right, you were constantly saying how much you ‘needed him’.”

 Yoru spat the words out like they were poison- would have walked right out of the room as he saw the blurry, apologetic look on her face had he not wanted to stay by Fubuki’s side until he woke up. The apologetic look disappeared as she seemed to harden before their eyes, and she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“It’s my duty.” She said simply, before turning and leaving the room.

The heavy atmosphere that filled the room afterwards was nearly suffocating for Yoru, even as Rika tried to lighten it and Endou only made it worse.

“This isn’t your fault, Endou.” Yoru assured quietly. “Fubuki is a private person; especially when it comes to things like this.” He laughed a littler nervously, hoping that his own guilt wasn't able to be seen. “I only found out about Atsuya by accident, really.”

“This is a problem that revolves around the whole team!” Kidou said sternly, and at everyone’s questioning looks he explained, “It’s true that we’ve been relying too much on Eternal Blizzard. We kept thinking that as long as we passed Fubuki the ball, he would score the goal for us. Those feelings of ours must have put a lot of pressure on him.”

Yoru looked down at Fubuki then, sighing softly as he looked at the team once again. “I can help you train and create plays. If we change up parts of our plays while getting stronger, we can surprise them a bit... Especially since I _think_ I might have noticed a pattern to Genesis' movements.”

Kidou smiled slightly, nodding, and soon most of the room was starting to become excited and happy again. Yoru smiled at the excitement, but his own inner turmoil made it difficult to really be happy, and quite frankly, he was exhausted.

The small smile he wore disappeared as Kazemaru left the room without a word, and Yoru knew that Kazemaru’s fire had died away.

\----

Long after the others had left, Yoru stayed by Fubuki’s side. The room was silent aside from the ticking of a clock and the bustle of nurses and the like out in the hall, but Yoru's head felt especially loud. It had been a long time since he'd been this afraid and nervous of a hospital; going to one bi-monthly for check-ups would do that, he supposed. Even longer since he had felt so helpless.

Yoru pulled his legs up to his chest, looking at Fubuki sadly. He'd woken up for a brief moment earlier in the day, but he'd barely cracked open his eyes before they fell shut again and he fell asleep. It made Yoru's heart hurt to know just how exhausted Fubuki was. That even when he tried, he failed to help him in the most spectacular of ways.

Really, his mom would be disappointed if she knew what he'd done.

He glanced towards the door, wondering if he should ask a nurse or doctor to check his eyes. Everything was still very blurry and his eyes were stinging in pain- have been for hours now, since the match.

Yoru was scared to leave Fubuki’s side, though. What if he woke up when he was gone? What if something bad happened? He didn’t want Fubuki to wake up alone. Not with his mind the way it was right now.

Yoru sighed softly, burying his head in his knees. God, he was pathetic.

“Hey, Fubuki?” He began after a long while, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but… please don’t keep everything bottled up inside. It only makes things worse.” Yoru paused a moment, sighing soon after. He felt like a hypocrite, telling Fubuki not to bottle everything away when he pretty much did the same thing. “I know that I’m probably pushing too hard, and I know that I promised to let you and Atsuya work this out on your own, but… but the three of us need to have a talk. This needs to be talked about. If it isn’t, something like this might happen again.”

Another pause.

“You… might end up like me.” He admitted after a moment, voice quivering. “I don’t mean physically, either… I mean… Your mind… it-“ Yoru cut himself off roughly, sighing heavily. He grabbed at his hair, tugging it in frustration. “Sorry… I wish I could, like, explain this better but I’m not really sure how.”

Only silence answered him, making him grit his teeth. The room was almost suffocating in its quietness; even as doctors and nursed bustled outside in the hall, checking on other patients or helping others find the ones they came to visit.

It unnerved him more than he would like.

“The last time I was in a hospital,” He started after a long moment, eyes falling to where his hands were clenching tightly into fists. He had to show Fubuki there was an even playing field between them. “The last time I was in a hospital for more than a couple of minutes… I was certain I was going to go crazy.” He admitted, “I was drowning in my thoughts. Stuck in a never ending loop of how I’d be kicked off the team, how I was useless, how it was such a.... a _stupid_ way to absolutely destroy my leg and yet, that was what happened. I had thought I could make it through… and instead I nearly lost my leg. It was awful…

“Seeing the faces of my old my teammates- the sympathy and guilt that each of them carried when they visited me, trying to act normal and smile even though they pitied me… that was probably the worst part.” He slowly raised his head to look at Fubuki’s sleeping form. “I don’t want you and Atsuya to feel like that.”

No response, of course. Yoru gulped, taking a shaky breath. “This team is falling apart, Fubuki.” He whispered, “You’re fighting with Atsuya, the team is losing their spirit, and I-“ He cut off as someone entered the room, blinking blurry eyes at the doctor standing in the doorway, possibly giving Yoru a sympathetic smile. He couldn’t really tell from this far away and his eyes like they currently are.

“I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over now.” The doctor explained. “You’re going to have to join your friends outside and come back in the morning.”

Yoru didn’t want to leave, and he bit his lip. “Actually… uh, can you do eye exams here?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow at Yoru, and he flushed under his gaze, looking down. He knew it sounded like he was trying to give them an excuse to stay, but he really was worried about his eyes, and, okay, it _was_ kind of an excuse. “My vision’s been having really bad periods of time where it’s really blurry.”

The doctor tapped on his clipboard for a few minutes before sighing softly. “You’re eyes _have_ seemed rather unfocused.” He conceded, coming closer to check on Fubuki. “I’ll take you to where we give the eye exams as soon as I’m done here.”

Yoru gave the man a small smile. “Thank you.”

The doctor didn’t respond, but he still led Yoru to the part of the hospital they had for eye exams and led him into one of the rooms.

“Stay here. I’ll go get Dr. Agehira.”

“Yes sir.”

Yoru didn’t have to wait long before a woman with long, straight brown hair and a pair of no-frame glasses resting comfortably on her nose walked into the room.

“Hi! I’m Dr. Agehira. You wanted an eye exam?”


	18. Chapter 17: Check Up Make Up

Yoru sat in one of the two chairs in the room, trying not to swerve himself side to side with his foot while Dr. Agehira looked at her notes from his exam and his records from Hokkaido-- including records of his family’s ability, as per Yukimura regulation-- with a frown.

It was nearly three hours after he had first come into the room; after extensive questioning about why Yoru thought he needed the exam, getting his records from his doctor in Hokkaido, and the actual exam itself, Yoru was feeling pretty bad about having asked for it in the first place. The hospital was beginning to make him jumpy and he had expected this to be done fast enough he would have been back at Fubuki’s side within an hour, or have some sort of news, or _something_ other than a three-hour trip down medical testing memory lane.

Not to mention, he felt bad that Dr. Agehira had to focus on him when she probably had other patients she needed to be checking on.

The silence didn’t help much, either.

Yoru nearly jumped out of his skin as Dr. Agehira sighed, running a hand through her hair.

“Alright, Yukimura… do you want the bad or good news first?” She asked kindly, setting her clipboard down and instead taking a folder from the desk she sat next to.

“Bad news, please.” He said softly, prompting a sad smile from the doctor.

“If what these records say are true-- and judging by the names of the doctors who signed and the age of them, they are-- if you continue using that ability around Aliea Academy, your eyes will continue to be damaged, and you will most likely get hyphema.” She paused a moment, as if realizing the chances Yoru knew what that meant were slim, “That means your eyes will end up bleeding.” She explained, making Yoru’s heart drop. _More_ bleeding? He thought he was done with that after the surface his leg injury had healed.

Yoru nodded, a sinking feeling in his gut. “ _That_ is actually the best case scenario when using your ability.” Dr. Aghira continued, looking at Yoru sadly. “The worst case scenario is that you lose your vision, permanently.”

Yoru bit his lip to stop a whimper from escaping. He knew that was a completely valid outcome- had been preparing himself for the reveal ever since his vision first stayed blurred for longer than a few minutes- but hearing it come from a professional made it seems all too real.

Dr. Agehira let him process this for a few minutes before she continued. “Thankfully, it looks like your eyes are healthy enough that, should you keep using your ability around Aliea…” She trailed off, pen tapping against the desk as she debated what to say. “Well, if you _do_ experience any worse symptoms… I think it’s safe to say that unless you stare right at the source of that odd light you told me about, you will not be going blind.”

Another thoughtful pause.

“You might… experience an abnormally long bout temporary blindness,” She said carfully, “If you continue to use your ability around them. I or another doctor will need to see you again after the next game you have against one of their teams to be sure, I’m afraid.”

“….So what’s the good news?” Yoru asked skeptically, dread making any hope of salvaging the situation slim. Dr. Agehira smiled.

“The _good_ news is, your vision now should clear up after a good night’s rest and maybe an extra nap or two- no problems or permanent worsening.” She said happily, leaning over to start writing on some papers she had pulled out of the folders on the desks. “Just keep your eyes closed for a while if they don’t clear up immediately. If that doesn’t help, either call my phone or come back tomorrow and I can give you more tips on how to help get them back to normal.”

Dr. Agehira tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before straightening back up and handing the papers to Yoru. The one on top had only a phone number scrawled on it, and Dr. Agehira smiled at him again. “That’s my number. Call me whenever you need help with your eyes, or whenever you go someplace that isn’t Hokkaido. I’ve got connections all over Japan. If you need someone to check your eyes or if worse comes to worst, stop the bleeding, I’ll let one of my buddies know and they’ll meet you at the school.”

“…Why are you helping to that extent?” Yoru asked softly, and Dr. Agehira laughed softly, smile turning sad once again.

“My kids go to one of the schools they destroyed a while ago… when I heard Raimon was fighting against them, I decided that if I were to meet them, I’d help any way I can.” She sighed, pushing the top of her pen against the desk. It clicked and the tip retracted, so she set it down on her clipboard. “I just wish it didn’t have to be because one of you is at risk of going blind.”

Yoru smiled shyly, scratching lightly at his cheek. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be sorry,” Dr. Agehira waved off his apology, standing from her seat and giving his hair a light ruffle. “These are things you can’t control, after all.” She paused, giving him a stern glance. “Although I still believe you should stop using that ability of yours around Aliea.”

Yoru laughed nervously, standing as well as he clutched the papers tightly in his hands. “I wish I could promise you I won’t, but…”

“But you need to.” Dr. Agehira finished, rolling her eyes as she smiled. “I get it. Seriously, though: tell your coach about this. Come on, I’ll lead you back to your friend’s room, so you can say goodnight. I can’t let you stay here any later, I’m afraid.”

Yoru’s smile faded, “I can’t spend the night?” He asked weakly. Dr. Agehira gave him a sympathetic smile as she opened the door to the room.

“I’m afraid not. I can’t really let you stay unless you were in need of surgery or any number of medical reasons except a simple eye exam and some scans.” She explained as she left the room after Yoru.

They began walking back through the mostly empty halls towards Fubuki’s room. “I can, however, make sure you can come in early tomorrow to keep watch over your friend.” She paused thoughtfully as they walked, a small hum escaping her. “I can also have one of the other doctors check on and write you a prescription for any pain medication you might need for your leg, if you’d like.”

Yoru laughed softly, shaking his head. “Thank you, but I’m alright. Most days I don’t need it.”

“If you say so, dear.” Dr. Agehira stopped in front of Fubuki’s door, peeking in to see if anyone was there before opening it and motioning for Yoru to head on in. “I’ll stay out here. You go say your goodnight.”

Yoru nodded, heading back into Fubuki’s room. It hurt to see that Fubuki was still sleeping, but he supposed that after so long without proper sleep, it would be getting to him now. He smiled at Fubuki and reached out, tapping his hand a few times. “Good night, Fubuki.” He said softly, smiling. “I hope the both of you will wake up soon. It’s lonely not having you to talk to.”

Fubuki’s fingers twitched and his eyebrows furrowed for a moment, which Yoru supposed he had to take as a good sign. He gave Fubuki a hesitant smile. “I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning… see you-- _both_ of you—then; Shiro, Atsuya.”

He gave Fubuki’s hand a small squeeze before stepping away from the bed and heading out of the room, where Dr. Agehira stood, waiting patiently. She smiled when he walked out, and together they walked to the door of the hospital, chatting about all kinds of things.

Dr. Agehira was a kind woman, and far friendlier than most doctors Yoru had met. She made his hospital jitters disappear the more she talked; making him feel welcomed and trusted. She was also one of very few that actually believed the records he showed her of his ability-- the only others being the doctor that helped Yoru through his recovery in Okinawa, and the doctor he had in Hokkaido. The doctors that they had tried before those other two had all scoffed and thought his family crazy.

When he was at the door, he paused at the sight of Coach Hitomiko waiting there for him. Unease and anger swirled back to life in his chest; she was the last person he wanted to see right now.

“Well, this is where I leave you.” Dr. Agehira quietly bid farewell, smiling at him and patting his shoulder. “Have a good night, Yukimura.”

“Goodnight, Dr. Agehira.”

He watched her turn and walk back into the maze of halls, taking a deep breath before leaving the hospital and walking over to Coach Hitomiko.

“Nice to see you’re alright.” She commented when Yoru offered her no greeting. Her eyes fell from his face to the papers in his hand, concern knitting her eyebrows together. “… _Are_ you alright?”

Yoru sighed softly, agitated, but handed her the majority of the papers, keeping the one with Dr. Agehira’s phone number until he could get it into his phone. “I’m not going to stop trying to find habits and seeing through their plays, or going to leave Fubuki alone with you.” Yoru explained calmly, with no room for argument. “So don’t even think of trying to send me home.”

Hitomiko gasped as she read over the papers, her gaze snapping up to him. “Are you joking? You-“

“If you’re keeping Fubuki on, even as his mind was being unraveled into tatters, then you’re keeping me on even at the risk of going blind.” Yoru growled, already walking past her and in the direction of Yokato Junior High.

He heard Hitomiko’s hurried footsteps after him. “Yukimura, about that-“

“Save it.” He spun around to face her, angered by the embarrassed and saddened look on her face. His chest rattled with emotions, hissing through his teeth, “I _told_ you! I told you he was struggling! I told you you had to take him off the team because you were putting too much pressure on him! I told you, and yet you kept him on; did nothing to help him!” He snapped, clenching his hands into fists. “You do _not_ get to apologize to me until you apologize to Fubuki when he’s awake!”

At Hitomiko’s silence he turned back around, grumbling under his breath as he pulled out his phone and quickly added Dr. Agehira’s contact. He made sure he had triple checked the number-- he wasn’t sure his eyes could get it right on the first go-- before he held the final paper out to his coach. “As much as I don’t believe you deserve to be this team’s coach, you are and will continue to be. Which means you’re going to need this.”

“What is it?” She asked, taking the paper and reading the number.

“The cell phone number of the doctor who checked my eyes; she said to call if my eyes got worse. She knows people throughout Japan that would be able to help.” Hitomiko let out a small sound of confirmation, and Yoru could hear her entering the number into her phone before folding the paper like she had the others.

The two fell into an uncomfortable silence as they headed back towards the school, neither of them saying anything to break it. Eventually, Coach Hitomiko let out a quiet sigh.

“Listen, Yukimura… I really do want Fubuki, you, and the others to stay safe. I just… need strong players. Fubuki and Atsuya-- they’re such a strong duo, I couldn’t afford to let them go.”

“You could have just told us. You could have let him take a break. You could have done _anything_ else except stay quiet…” Yoru said softly, crossing his arms over his chest and kicking at the ground. “You could have stopped him from getting this far. Could have _not_ put so much faith in me.”

“I can say nothing in my defense, you’re right.” She agreed calmly, “However, I want to change. I won’t ignore your feelings-- _anyone_ ’s feelings-- again about these matters.” The sound of her footsteps halting caused Yoru to turn around; his eyes widened slightly as she bowed in front of him, bending almost completely at the waist. “So please, help me defeat Aliea Academy. I can’t do it alone!”

Yoru stared at his coach with wide eyes, unsure of what to do. Lost, he let out a nervous laugh. “I already said I’d help, didn’t I?” He said weakly, “Even if it costs me my sight.”

“I don’t want you to hurt yourself.” She said softly, looking at Yoru with sad eyes. “I’ve already seen enough of you kids getting hurt because of me.”

Yoru shrugged, starting to continue the walk after giving her a small bow of the head. “My sight going bad won’t be because of you, though.” He explained, “It’ll be because of whatever’s giving Aliea their power: that odd crystal thing that makes them have poisoned glows.”

Hitomiko gasped, causing Yoru to look over his shoulder at her. “Oh, do you not know about my ability to see glows, or, I mean- ech- auras?” He cringed as he said the word aura; he was sure he’d never be able to call the flames of color that without getting a bitter taste in his mouth, even if it made more sense than "glows".

Hitomiko slowly shook her head, which made Yoru sigh softly. He explained it to her the best he could, and when he was done, Hitomiko had a thoughtful look on her face.

“That explains quite a bit.” She said softly, before continuing, “I’ll explain what that is when the time is right. Until then, I want you to be careful about how you take care of your eyes and leg, okay?”

Yoru nodded, giving Coach Hitomiko a small smile. “Okay.”


	19. Chapter 18: Not A Fairytale

The next day was probably one of the worst ones so far.

Yoru, exhausted by the long stay in the hospital the day before and disturbingly shocked by the renewed clarity in his vision, had gotten up with Coach Hitomiko early in the morning to make the trip back to the hospital. Yoru had wanted to get in as early as possible, and Coach Hitomiko didn’t want to let him go alone since he was under her care as a part of Raimon’s team.

They had been eating an early breakfast when Kazemaru, all fight gone from his eyes, walked over and quietly told Coach Hitomiko that he was leaving. Coach Hitomiko nodded, made sure Kazemaru had everything he needed, and had Furukabu take him to wherever it was he’d need to go to get back to Tokyo.

Yoru frowned slightly, activating his ability to take in Kazemaru’s glow one last time. The red tinge of passion and the kind blue and beige of his aura had faded almost completely, replaced with a sickly yellow and pink that showed just how defeated he was.

“He… doesn’t take constant struggle well.” Yoru said softly, saddened as he watched Kazemaru turn his back on the Inazuma Caravan. At Hitomiko’s curious glance, Yoru rubbed the back of his neck nervously and explained further. “The constant power imbalance and neverending stream of teams from Aliea has him scared, lost, unstable…. They defeated him in a way that many more may follow. He can’t stand seeing such a large imbalance any more. He’s not having fun, and he can’t see just how far he’s come since this whole ordeal began.”

“He’s only able to see the losses, not the wins?” Hitomiko summarized. Yoru nodded, looking at her again.

“He’s one of the pillars of the group, Coach. Without him here…. More are going to follow.”

Coach Hitomiko bit her lip, looking at where Kazemura had disappeared into the distance and then the Inazma Caravan. She let out a soft sigh and looked at the ground, crossing her arms over her chest. “If they have lost the will to fight, I will not make them stay.” She said quietly, “If we need another player on the field, you’ll take Kazemaru’s place.”

“Yes ma’am.” Yoru said, standing a moment later. “..Shall we go to the hospital now?”

“Yeah,” Hitomiko sighed again as she stood, and together they left for the hospital.

\----

Fubuki still hadn’t woken up when Yoru was allowed into his room.

It made Yoru pause just inside the door, an ache in his heart and a twisted emotion he both did and didn’t recognize planting him in place.

The Snow Prince continued to lay in the hospital bed, unaware of the world around him; Yoru’s memory supplied the image of when Yoru was confined to a hospital bed, staring blankly at his lap with his broken leg was propped up higher than the other, cast wrapped tight and snug around his calf and foot.

A shiver ran down his spine; he shook his head to clear away the thoughts. “Good morning, Shiro. Atsuya.” He said softly, walking over to the chair he had stayed in the day before. “Did I miss when you woke up? You’ve been asleep an awfully long time.” No response, but Yoru was already used to that as he sat down in the chair left at his side. He watched Fubuki’s face for any movement and wondered what he should say to Fubuki.

The room was quiet as he debated his options: Should he tell him about his eyes? Kazemaru leaving? Or should he talk about the days when Fubuki wasn’t fighting with himself?

“..Kazemaru’s left the caravan.” He finally decided on. As much as he wanted to tell Fubuki about his eyes, he also wanted it to stay strictly between himself and coach. The last thing any of these kids needed was to know their teammate was about to bleed from his eyes, and knowing how extreme some of them could be, he was sure they’d start thinking he would go blind. He also didn’t want to saddle his own problems onto Fubuki. So instead, he talked about the only thing not involving either of them.

“He… just couldn’t take it anymore, I guess. The power imbalance. It wore him down until there was nothing left.” He lightly touched Fubuki’s hand, debating if he should risk holding onto it. It was a foolish desire; at most it would just bring him a miniscule level of comfort.

“You two both lost sight of what’s really important about soccer.” He whispered, smiling sadly at Fubuki’s sleeping form. “It’s meant to be fun. If you love it, that’s all that really matters…. Don’t you think so?”

He let the silence linger for another beat before giving Fubuki’s hand a small squeeze. “I hope you can have fun when playing soccer again, soon. I miss the three of us just having fun.”

\----

The day passed slowly, the girls and coach coming by frequently to check on Fubuki. Otonashi told Yoru about Endou’s current state of depression at the news of Kazemaru’s departure, and Yoru slowly nodded even as the sky darkened and rain began to pour down. He wondered if he should try to say anything to Endou; he’d felt similar in the past, like he had let everyone down, that he could have changed the way someone felt and made things _better_ even when though he knew that was impossible.

Thunder crashed as lightning flashed outside the hospital room window, reminding him of where he was. Yoru bit his lip, looking at Fubuki. Could he leave his friend alone during the storm? What if he woke up?

Yoru decided the best thing to do was stay.

The day continued to crawl by until he had to go back to the caravan as visiting hours ended. He didn’t want to leave again.

Yoru sighed, looking at Fubuki. At least he had started to show more signs he was going to wake up soon. Yoru bit his lip, looking at the door to the room, and before he left, he did something he hoped he wouldn’t come to regret later on.

He went back over to Fubuki, told him another soft good night, and leaned down to give the boy a quick kiss on the cheek. He moved back almost as soon as his lips brushed skin, but when Fubuki made no sign of waking up after the action he let out a sigh as something in his chest soured.

 _Of course he wouldn’t wake up_ , Yoru chided himself. _This isn’t some fairytale story. You_ know _this Yoru._

“…I’ll see you tomorrow, Fubuki.” He whispered, before turning and walking out the door, hoping his cheeks weren’t as red as he felt like they were.


	20. Chapter 19: Disappear

The next few days were much of the same dreariness, and the atmosphere that was hanging over everyone was nearly suffocating Yoru. It was reminding him too much of the lethargic blur of days that he experienced early on after his accident or during his depressive episodes and it buzzed under his skin, making him feel the need to move, to run, to do _something_ other than let it take over. He was sick of it.

So far, the only good thing to come of the current situation was that Fubuki was awake again. Of course, he still wasn’t allowed out of the hospital for at least another day as the doctors and nurses made sure he didn’t have a concussion or other injury.

There hadn’t yet been much time to talk to Fubuki; the solem, oppressive air surrounding him as well, made even worse by the fact Fubuki wouldn’t even look at Yoru and refused to talk to him. It only frayed Yoru’s nerves even more, and he could feel an outburst wanting to break free in either the form of crying or shouting and possibly pulling out his hair with frustration at his own powerlessness.

Kurimatsu leaving was the last straw.

When Aki came back down after trying to convince Endou to snap out of his current state and practice with the others, shaking her head sadly, Yoru decided that he’d had enough. He stood up from his spot on the bench, already striding towards the school building.

“Where are you going?” Kidou asked, pausing in his half-hearted practice. Yoru glanced at the team over his shoulder.

“Hopefully,” He stated simply, “To get our captain back.”

He hoped he sounded more determined instead of the fiery ball of ‘I’m fed up with this and about to explode’ that was churning inside him.

He went to the roof of the school and stopped in front of Endou, crossing his arms over his chest. “Get up.” He demanded, looking down at Endou with a steady gaze. Endou barely lifted his head to look at him; Yoru fought down a growl, made all the easier as his brain supplied the imagine of Yoru in a similar state and the spike of fear was dug further into his heart.

“Get. Up.”

No response; Yoru did growl this time.

“Alright, that’s it.” He muttered, forcing himself not to lean down and yank Endou to his feet. “I’ve got no patience for this right now. What do you think all this sulking is doing, huh?” He asked, motioning vaguely to the sorry sight Endou made.

“Do you think it’s just going to magically fix things? So what if you didn’t see any of this coming? You aren’t _them_ , Endou!” He cried with an almost hysterical laugh tickling his next words, “You are _never_ going to be able to read ever single thought or mentality of a person you are friends with because that’s _not possible_. You can’t let something out of your control- something that’s _already happened_ suck you in like this!”

He knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to be shouting, but Endou was barely reacting to his words and this was too similar, too suffocating, and he couldn’t just stand by and watch as their captain ate himself up inside and out over something he couldn’t control.

“I know this might come as a shock to you, but people look to you to lead them. They look to you to help them get through the tough times because you never let it get to you like this. Yeah, you get sad and a bit down, but you always bounce back! What’s so different about it this time? So what if you didn’t know what Kazemaru was thinking, or that Fubuki was struggling with his identity. It’s too late to go back and stop this from happening but you can learn from this and _grow_.”

Yoru was quiet for a while, taking deep breaths to calm himself even though Endou hadn’t so much as flinched.

“You can’t fix everyone’s problems, Endou,” He said softly, looking down at Endou sadly. “Everyone keeps things to themselves, everyone struggles with personal demons. You can’t expect yourself to understand everyone down to the last drop of their being. Life and humans aren’t like that.” Another pause as Yoru tried to gauge a reaction from Endou.

When he saw he had received nothing, Yoru sighed. “You need to be a leader. Your team needs you. So get out of this ditch you’ve thrown yourself into, because being depressed is _not_ going to help or change the situation. You need to pick yourself up and dust yourself off, got it? Take it from me- it’s best not to let yourself despair any further.”

Yoru turned and started back to the door, before remembering one final thing. He turned to look at Endou again. “Giving up isn’t like you. If this is what it takes to bring you down, then maybe you should rethink what it is that drives you to soccer.”

Having said what he needed to say, Yoru left. He needed to get away; needed to find fresh air that wasn’t going to suffocate him the longer he stayed beside the others. He had said his piece. If they didn’t figure this out, Yoru supposed that’d be the end of the current Raimon Eleven.

He went on a walk to clear his head, sticking close to the school per Hitomiko’s orders, and when he came back he was just in time to see Tachimukai master Majin the Hand. Already the air around the team was lighter from the development.

It made Yoru smile. This was what Raimon’s team was supposed to be like. Not the unfocused, depressed mess they had been acting like the past few days. The smile only grew as Endou and Aki both came rushing down the stairs, a grin on their captain’s face and the fire returned to his eyes.

The next day, Fubuki came back and Yoru had to stop himself from tackling the boy in a hug as he finally spoke after nearly a whole week of not hearing his voice. Instead he gave him a gentle smile during a private reunion between them in the hospital, and welcomed him back with open arms before Fubuki made his presence known to the rest of the team.

Everything was going to be okay between all of them now. Yoru could feel it.

The thought was quickly replaced by an uneasy chill as Fubuki’s eyes turned golden for a moment; Yoru felt his heart break a little at what that meant.

Shiro and Atsuya were still at each other’s throats, and Atsuya had the most control.

\----

“Atsuya… what are you doing?” Yoru asked that night, after the caravan had stopped for the night on their way to Okinawa and he had pulled Atsuya out to talk once everyone else was asleep. At the mention of his name, Atsuya sneered and took full control over Fubuki, his eyes completely turning golden as they sharpened and his hair became spikier than normal.

Yoru shivered as another chill ran down his back while he studied Atsuya. The younger Fubuki’s eyes were almost wild, a fear of being tossed aside buried deep into his expression that he probably didn’t even know was showing.

Fubuki was still exhausted.

“What I _should_ have done from the start.” Atsuya spat. “Shiro wasn’t needed, so I took control instead.”

“The both of you are needed… I thought you two understood that?” Yoru asked softly, taking a step closer. “You don’t need to be afraid of this, Fubuki.”

Atsuya looked at Yoru with wide eyes. “We’re not _afraid_.” He said, voice unusually highstrung as he tried to deny just how scared he was. “We’re on our way to being perfect!”

“You taking over Shiro is not _perfect_.” Yoru hissed, “I know you guys said you need to do this on your own but I can’t let you do this to yourself!”

“I don’t need your help!” Atsuya shouted, his voice cracking. “I’m handling this just fine! Shiro was only holding me back!”

“You’re scared!” Yoru explained, voice slightly raised as he tried to get Atsuya to listen, “You’re scared, so just calm down and let me help you, please! Before you-- _both_ of you-- end up getting hurt!”

Atsuya shook his head, covering his hands with his ears. “Shut _up!_ _I’m_ the one that they want, so why are you so determined to get Shiro back?!”

“Because _both_ of you are important! Both of you create Fubuki Shirou and both of you deserve to be together!” Yoru shouted, trying to get that through to the striker. “You are two halves of a whole, and both of you are needed in order to coexist. You must realize that, don’t you?” His voice dropped to a much quieter level as he spoke, the need to yell already passed.

He just wanted them to be happy again.

Yoru took a deep, shaky breath as his worry started pressing back into his throat and made his emotions well up. “You said you guys understood what I’ve been saying, but you’ve continued to fight each other.”

Atsuya was quiet as he looked down at the ground, eyes saddened. “I—I just don’t want to disappear…” He said sadly, voice shaking ever so slightly as his hands curled into fists at his side. “Shiro has always been the main part of Shirou. If I stop fighting…. What’s going to happen to me?” He looked like a kicked puppy, frightened and afraid; Yoru’s heart broke at the sight.

“Oh, Atsuya…” He said softly, stepping closer and giving the slightly taller boy a hug. “You’ll never disappear… You and Shiro are both part of Fubuki. Just because you aren’t separate any more, doesn’t mean you won’t still be there.”

Atsuya whimpered softly as he hugged Yoru tightly, resting his head on his shoulder.

“I’m not scared.” He murmured after a moment, even as Yoru could feel him shaking in his arms and remember the fear that colored all Fubuki’s glow.

“Of course not,” Yoru agreed softly, rubbing Atsuya’s back. “You’ve just had a stressful week.” Atsuya let out another weak whimper of agreement, and Yoru made sure to hug him even tighter as his shoulder started to grow damp.


	21. Chapter 20: Tides Change

Yoru sighed happily as he leaned on the railing of the ferry, letting the sea breeze ruffle his hair and wrap around him. As much as Hokkaido felt like where he belonged, Okinawa was his home for most of his life, and just being on the sea and steadily getting closer to the island made him feel at peace.

The sea was in his blood, just as much as the ice and snow of Hokkaido was.

“You look like you’re having fun.” Fubuki said from beside him, making Yoru laugh softly as he turned to look at him. After the night Atsuya ended up crying, Atsuya still had more control than Shiro over their body, but now it was on even terms instead of Atsuya taking it by force. It still made Yoru a little worried, and he knew that Fubuki’s struggle wasn’t over just yet, but he was definitely able to relax with Atsuya in control now that Shiro was okay with it, too.

“I haven’t been near the sea in over a year…” Yoru commented with a hum, resting his head on his arms. “It’s familiar.”

Fubuki nodded, leaning on the railing as well. “Don’t forget hot.”

Yoru laughed again, nodding. “Yes, it’s also hot.” He admonished, rolling his eyes a little bit. “Of course, the fact you are still wearing your jacket and scarf certainly doesn’t help.”

Fubuki blushed lightly, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted and huffed. “Shut up, I can wear what I want.”

“You sure you don’t want to take off your jacket?” Yoru asked, giggling. “It really will help.”

“I’m okay,” Fubuki said softly, still pouting even as he and Yoru went back under the shade to sit beside Kabeyama. “I can handle it!”

“If you say so,” Yoru hummed with a note of playful teasing, not believing his friend for even a moment as he stretched out beside Fubuki.

A few minutes later, Fubuki was tugging his scarf away from his neck and fanning himself with the ends in an attempt to cool off. Yoru bit his lip to hide a giggle, smiling innocently as Fubuki glared at him and muttered a small “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.” Yoru replied smugly, grinning playfully at Fubuki. Fubuki huffed, swatting him lightly with the end of his scarf. Yoru barked out a laugh, hitting the cloth away with his hand.

Beside them, Kabeyama let out a groan. “It’s so hot…”

Yoru nodded, knowing well how terrible the heat can feel to people unused to it. “It’s summer all year round at these islands, to be honest.” He explained, before hearing Megane shout like a child who just found something incredibly interesting.

“Coral! There’s coral down there!” Megane shouted happily, starting to lean even further over the railing.

“Megane, if you lean too far over like that, you’ll fall into the water.” Kabeyama warned tiredly, the heat making his worry come off a lot less than it probably was.

Yoru watched Megane wearily, leaping to his feet as Megane started tipping over the edge just a little too far. He ran to catch him before he fell but didn’t quite get there in time, wincing as Megane crashed into the water. “Shoot! Megane! Are you okay?!”

“Someone help!” Megane shouted, flailing in the water in a panic. Yoru grit his teeth and held onto the railing even tighter. If only he could still….

He caught sight of someone diving into the water from the beach, his eyes widening when the person and Megane came up a moment later. Yoru gasped, a grin slipping onto his face as he leaned a little further forward to see if it really was who he thought he was. He heard someone yelp and felt a hand grab onto his shirt, probably afraid Yoru was about to take a dive as well. Yoru didn’t really care at the moment, too focused on the familiar teen currently taking Megane back to shore.

“No way!” He laughed, excitement and apprehension building in his chest.

“Thank goodness!” Kabeyama cheered, tears of relief streaming down his face as Touko let out her own cheer.

“Wow! Who is that?”

The guy helping Megane back to shore didn’t look up at them, but Yoru could recognize the dark skin and poofy pink hair anywhere. “Tsunami!”

“Who?” The others asked, relief replaced with confusion while Yoru smiled.

“He’s one of my old classmates!”

The moment they were able to get off the ferry, Yoru and the others went running to where Tsunami was scolding Megane.

“Hey, are you guys--“ Tsunami cut off his question when he noticed Yoru,staringat him for a moment before grabbing Yoru in a hug that pulled the shorter boy off the ground. “Yukimura!” He cheered, even as Yoru yelped from surprise and laughed. “Long time no see!”

“Hi, Tsunami.” Yoru laughed, patting Tsunami’s back as he was put down and Endou scolded Megane for not being careful. As Endou thanked him, Tsunami set Yoru down and scratched at his cheek shyly, smiling bashfully.

“Oh, stop, it’s not that big of a deal.” Tsunami explained, and Megane looked away nervously.

“That’s right, I could’ve swam my way to shore.” Megane said slowly, earning a look from Yoru that said no one actually bought his attempt at a lie.

“You idiot!” Tsunami shouted instead, making Megane wince, “Don’t underestimate the sea!”

“Tsunami’s right, Megane. The sea is far stronger than a pool; even the most experienced swimmers have to be careful.” Yoru said softly, Tsunami quickly continuing where he left off.

“The sea is where life is born. We can’t have it taking like away!” Megane let out a weak agreement, clearly embarrassed and probably a little overwhelmed by Tsunami’s outburst.

Seeing that Megane had learned his lesson, Tsunami turned to leave, a smile on his face. “Anyway, it’s good to know you’re safe.” He winked at the group before looking at Yoru again. “Will I get to see you later, Yukimura?”

“Maybe,” Yoru hummed, chuckling. “Go enjoy your surfing spots already.” He shooed Tsunami off, making the boy laugh and wave once more before leaving.

“Bye now!”

“Ah…” Endou lifted a hand like he was debating calling for Tsunami to wait, but Fubuki beat him to the punch as he nudged Yoru’s side while Tsunami headed off down the beach.

“So… who is he?” Fubuki asked, an odd tone to his voice that it seemed only Yoru noticed.

“Tsunami Jousuke. He’s a friend from Oumihara; we were in the same class our first year. He comes to this island often to surf.” Yoru explained simply, smiling at the others. “He’s a really nice guy.” He paused a moment, remembering something rather important. “Oh, by the way, the boat won’t come back until tomorrow.”

“WHAT?!” His team shouted. Yoru nodded, laughing a little.

“Who’d have thought the ship only came to this island once a day…” Ichinose quietly uttered, crossing his arms over his chest with a small sigh.

Rika growled, turning on Megane.  “This is your fault!”

Yoru tuned out the arguing, looking out over the beach. “You know, we _could_ practice soccer here.” He mentioned idly. “The beach isn’t busy at this time of day.”

“Really?!” Endou asked, popping up beside Fubuki and him. “Then let’s get to practicing!”

\----

Now that they had two goalkeepers, the team decided to start with a practice match. Fubuki, Kogure, Megane and Yoru sat beside the girls, watching as the rest of the team began to play.

Yoru’s attention, as much as it should have been on the game, instead found its way to the ocean, where Tsunami was surfing along the big waves in the distance.

It had been a long time since he had seen any of his friends from Okinawa; even longer since he had actually talked to them.

He just didn’t want to come back a disappointment to them. The last few months of school after his accident had been mental torture for Yoru.

His teammates had treated him like glass; he was pretty sure he had yelled at quite a few of them when they were just trying to help, and all around he had just been in a very bad place at the time. That was the biggest reason he and his family had moved.

 He had wanted to heal somewhere away from the school, away from his teammates and the guilt they wore on their faces for something that wasn’t their fault in the slightest. He had wanted to go back to them with his head held high, instead of the Yoru they had come to know as broken.

He wondered if he was really ready to face them.

“Ya-hoo!”

Tsunami’s faint shout of joy pulled Yoru from his thoughts; he smiled as Tsunami leapt out of the water and pushed off his board, flipping multiple times in the air before landing gracefully on the beach in front of Raimon.

Yoru let out a low whistle. “He’s gotten better.”

Tsunami stood gracefully, blinking in surprise when he realized he had an audience. “Oh, it’s you guys.”

Raimon let out shouts of surprise as Tsunami’s board embedded itself in the sand beside him, while Tsunami didn’t even flinch before he looked at the group curiously.

“Are you guys having a match?” He asked with a smile. “Well, whatever. Good luck.” He gave another wave as he grabbed his board and walked away, heading off to the side where a towel and his clothes rested.

“Yukimura, if he’s your friend why has he barely acknowledged you?” Megane asked, making Yoru laugh softly.

“Well, I haven’t talked to him in over a year, and he’s also doing his own thing. He doesn’t really need to talk to me, especially since we’re busy practicing.”

“That seems a little odd….” Otonashi mentioned hesitantly. Yoru smiled at her.

“Well, if you knew only one person out of 15, would you want to acknowledge them often in front of the ones you don’t know?”

Otonashi frowned, thinking over what Yoru said. “I… guess not.” She said after a while.

Yoru nodded, turning his attention back to the practice match.

He winced as the ball Touko kicked went slamming into Tsunami’s board, which fell right on top of him. He knew that Tsunami wouldn’t mind the board falling on top of him, but he knew it had to hurt.

He also knew that Raimon was curious about Tsunami, considering how they’re gazes were constantly pulled to him.

“Touko, Rika. I think your form is good,” Yoru told the girls as they continued to work on Butterfly Dream. “You guys just need to work on power and aim.”

“Right!” Touko exclaimed passionately, and the two tried to do Butterfly Dream once again.

Instead of going towards the goal, however, the ball when flying towards Tsunami, who was surfing near the shore. He quickly kicked the ball back when it got close to him, and seeing how Tachimukai was knocked back when trying to catch it, Yoru could see Tsunami hadn’t lost his touch.

“Man, what a shock that was, seeing a ball heading straight for me.” Tsunami said with a small sigh as he came back to shore, rubbing the back of his head as he walked over to them.

“Hey, you!” Endou called, meeting Tsunami halfway. Yoru and the others followed as well. “Do you play soccer?”

“No, not even once,” Tsunami said calmly, shocking Endou.

“Not even once?!” Endou nearly shouted, before the shock morphed into a smile. “Do you want to try?”

“He’s never been interested before.” Yoru said with a hum. “Tsunami prefers the water to ground, anyway.”

Tsunami smiled, laughed, and nodded. “Yeah, that’s true. I’m a surfer, not a soccer player.” He proudly stated with a grin. “Thank you for the offer, though.” He turned once again, starting to walk away, when Kidou spoke up.

“It’s good that he doesn’t.” Kidou said calmly, and even though Yoru could guess what his plan was, it still made him a little mad as Kidou egged Tsunami on. “A newbie like him wouldn’t be able to reach our level as easily as that.”

“Come now, Kidou.” Yoru said softly, “He’d be able to get it quick enough, I’m sure.”

Of course, Kidou’s plan was working like a charm. Tsunami let out a warning growl, stepping to be face to face with Kidou.

“No matter how fit you are, you can’t call yourself skilled at what you’ve never tried. Soccer isn’t that simple.”

“Ha! You saw what happened! I kicked it back good and proper!” Tsunami snapped, motioning at the entire group for a moment.

Kidou lifted his head, a small smirk on his face. “Just that one time.”

Tsunami growled, clearly getting angry, and Yoru sighed.

“To be absolutely fair, Kidou,” Yoru said softly. “Tsunami has in fact kicked a soccer ball like that before.”

“Thank you!” Tsunami said proudly, while Yoru gave his friend an apologetic smile.

“Tsunami, those were all automatic responses to something coming straight for your face. Whether or not you’d be able to kick a ball that nicely in a normal circumstance… I don’t know. You’ve never really played before, so… I also have to side with Kidou on this.” Yoru left out the fact he did believe Tsunami could catch up to their level easily enough if he tried hard.

“Fine, I’ve made up my mind!” Tsunami declared, determination in his eyes as he turned to Endou. “I’ll play soccer!”

“Really?” Endou asked, excited. Tsunami grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

“Yeah! I never go back on my word.”

“Great! Then we welcome you, Tsunami!”

Tsunami grinned. “Nice to meet all of you.”

\---

Watching Tsunami fail was, admittedly, a little funny.

“You’d think after watching the soccer team and I practice on more than one occasion, he’d realize soccer isn’t just kicking.” Yoru commented as Tsunami once again missed the ball. Fubuki nodded in agreement beside him.

They continued watching the match quietly, throwing small comments here and there about what the team needed to work on or Tsunami needed to focus on doing. Even if Fubuki was more of a player than Yoru, they were both used to “coaching” the Hakuren team as advisor and captain, and it was hard to break those habits.

Yoru grinned as Tsunami started getting the hang of it all about five or so minutes later. “There’s that talent.” He said with a happy laugh. “I was wondering where it was hiding.”

“You knew he’d be good at soccer?” Natsumi asked. Yoru nodded, glancing at her for a moment.

“I could tell it was there. Tsunami’s movements and timing are impeccable. He’s just rough around the edges.” He let out another laugh as Tsunami continued to improve and shock the others. “See, the thing is… once you know how waves move; the push and pull of a ball’s movements can be very easy to figure out.”

As the others contemplated over Yoru’s words, he activated his ability out of curiousity.

Tsunami’s glow was a rich brown, mixing and curling with purples and blues with a stark outline of brilliant sunshine yellow. Yoru hummed, studying it for a moment longer before blinking. The clarity that continued to greet him after deactivating his ability shouldn’t have relieved him so much, but it did.

“Ah, screw this! Dribbling is a pain in the ass!” Tsunami snapped, determination in his eyes as he jumped up to meet the ball. Yoru bit back a small cheer as the field suddenly flooded with a tsunami of water, Tsunami riding the ball as if it was a surfboard.  “Tsunami Boost!” He twisted himself around, kicking the ball towards the goal. The water didn’t disappear like it would had the move failed, and Yoru cheered as he made the goal.

“Alright, Tsunami!” He cheered, laughing happily. “That was awesome!” He ran over to Tsunami, jumping up and down in front of him like an excited child. “You _have_ to join Oumihara’s soccer club when you get back! Please? Pretty please?” He begged, giving his friend puppy dog eyes that probably had the others staring at him like he had hit his head. Tsunami laughed, patting Yoru on the head.

“Maybe!” Tsunami said after a moment, before remembering the others were there. “Hey, did you like it? That was my Tsunami Boost.” He winked at the group then, and Yoru’s smile only grew wider.

“It was great!”

\---

Later that evening, Yoru was sitting beside Fubuki, watching the sun set while the rest of the group played card games or worked on homework inside the cabin they’d rented for the evening.

“Hey, Yukimura?” Fubuki began as the base of the sunset started to turn more red-orange than yellow and pink. His voice was oddly quiet, considering who had a bit more control over Shirou’s body; Yoru looked over to him.

“Yeah?” He asked, and Fubuki was quiet for a while before speaking.

“I… know that Shiro and I have been… _difficult_ recently, but…” Atsuya began, looking down and nudging the sand with his foot. “How are you feeling?” He looked up at Yoru, biting his lip. “You’ve seemed unusually tense since we were in the hospital…”

Yoru smiled kindly at Atsuya, reaching over and ruffling his hair. “It’s sweet of you to worry, but I’m alright.” He said softly, even as Atsuya glowered childishly at him and gave him a look that said he disagreed. “Right now, I want you two to focus on yourselves.”

Yoru let his hand slip from Fubuki’s head to his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. “Speaking of that, though... are you feeling any better?”

At that, Fubuki looked down, avoiding Yoru’s gaze. Yoru let him stay silent, collect his thoughts for as long as he needed. The message was clear enough, anyway; Shiro and Atsuya still couldn’t see they were both needed.

“Our head is a mess.” Fubuki slowly stated, “Shiro and I…. Get what you are trying to tell us but don’t understand it, either.” He was quiet for another moment. “For us, all we know is being perfect. If we’re not, then…. Why are we here?” He paused, taking in a deep breath as he started absentmindedly tracing things into the sand beneath them. “Why does Fubuki Shirou exist, if not to be perfect?”

 Yoru smiled sadly, giving his friend’s shoulder another squeeze. “You’ll figure it out.” He said softly. “Just know that I’ll be here for you, no matter what.”

Fubuki smiled, although it was a little bittersweet, and Yoru knew he could count it as a small victory.

\----

The sunset had nearly finished, sun slipping beneath the ocean waves and leaving only the brilliant colors, when Tsunami’s voice rang from farther down the shore. “Ah, Yukimura, Fubuki!”

Yoru and Fubuki both looked up from the waves, the noirett leaning back slightly to see Tsunami a bit better. “Tsunami!” He said cheerfully, unaware of how Fubuki was sporting another small pout beside him for a moment before they both stood and went over to the surfer.

Tsunami had a large swordfish on his shoulder, ready to be gutted and filleted, and he smiled brightly at the both of them. “I thought you guys might like to try this!”

Both strikers grinned at the other boy, nodding. “Sounds great!” Yoru said happily. “We have’t actually gotten around to making dinner yet, so this will be perfect!”

“Awesome!” Tsunami cheered, before putting the fish over his head as if it was a hat to hide his face from their view. “I’ll go let them know I’m here.” He said, a hint of mischief in his voice as he went to the door and knocked before opening it. Shouts of surprise came from inside; Fubuki and Yoru both had to hide small laughs as they peeked around the door to see the others while Tsunami mentioned he wanted them to try the swordfish.

After that, Tsunami and Yoru got the fish ready, seeing as they were the only ones who knew how to gut and clean it.

“Yukimura! You’ve lost your touch!” Tsunami teased as they worked. Yoru huffed, glaring playfully at his old friend.

“Oh shut up. I haven’t done this in a while!” He puffed as he and Tsunami started filleting the fish. “You try finding fresh seafood in Hokkaido.”

Tsunami looked up from the part of the fish he was cutting, a curious look in his eyes. “Hey, speaking of that, why _did_ you choose that winter wonderland as the place to move to?”

“My family used to live there, and it’s actually realy nice! I like it.” Yoru hummed, finally finishing his part of the fish and moving on to the oysters that Tsunami had gotten as well. “Besides, if I hadn’t moved there, I might not have met Fubuki.”

“Well, all of you are a mishmash of schools; you would have met him eventually.” Tsunami mentioned idly, raising an eyebrow at him. “What’s the difference?”

Yoru hummed thoughtfully, debating how to explain. He looked over his shoulder towards the door, glad to see no one was actively listening to their conversation. “Do you remember what I was like, after the accident?”

Tsunami’s hands stilled in his work, and he let out a soft sigh. “…Yeah, I do.” He looked over to Yoru then, a small smile on his face. “You look a lot better now.”

Yoru smiled and gave him a small, “Thanks,” before he continued to speak. “I made sure I was in a better mental place before going back to school, but… I feel like most of my mental recovery was thanks to Fubuki.” He explained. “He helped me through the days where I never wanted to get out of bed, or I could barely walk without wanting to scream and cry from the pain.” He knew his voice had taken on a more thoughtful, caring tone as he spoke about this, but he didn’t care. Fubuki had helped him through a lot, and they were each other’s support.

“… You’re right,” Tsunami said after a moment of silence, smiling at Yoru. “It’s definitely good that you met Fubuki before this.”

After that, they finished making the food in a comfortable silence, still throwing around teasing comments and exchanging short stories about the past year and a half, and soon they were bringing the fish and oysters into the beach house for everyone to enjoy.

Yoru couldn’t be sure, but Fubuki may have been blushing a bit when he sat beside him for dinner, although he didn’t focus on it too much as he watched Tsunami easily integrate into the group. The team enjoyed dinner, talking about random things and just having fun in each other’s prescene.

The next day, the Inazuma Caravan boarded the ferry to Okinawa, and Yoru waved goodbye to Tsunami as they departed.

“I hope we see him again in Okinawa.” Fubuki mentioned idly, leaning on the railing next to Yoru.

“Me too.” Yoru said with a hum. “He fits in well with the group, don’t you think?”

Fubuki was quiet for a moment before he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he does.”


	22. Chapter 21: Branded

The next day they were planning to catch the earliest ferry they could, so most of the team made quick work of their sleeping bags while Yoru and the other managers worked to make breakfast.

Breakfast as usual was an event all by itself, the sunrise bathing the usual chaos in a comfortable rosy hue as the team steadily become their lively selves.

It made Yoru’s heart warm; the laughs and smiles that filled the team outside of training reflected in the sky, and he knew that if he looked at their glows they would all have the same comforting rose that gave way to early morning grey.

The world was quickly gaining color from the grey as they finished eating and began packing away the tables, chairs, and camping kitchen. When everything was mostly put away and it was time for everyone to get onto the caravan, Yoru offered to give the cabin they had stayed in one last once over to make sure no one was forgetting anything.

He jogged over to the cabin, sliding open the door and doing a quick but thorough once over. Seeing as it was just the one room, it was easy to see that there wasn’t anything left behind by the others.

Yoru nodded to himself, spinning on his heel as he made to leave the cabin.

“Hey guys, I finished—"

Yoru froze.

His heart slammed against his ribs, eyes caught on a deathly familiar mix of brown and blue walking towards the group.

_A sick grin paired with sharp teeth, innocent eyes flashing, pain flaring what did he do  it hurtsithurtsithurts---_

“Ah, there you are, Yuki!”

Yoru tensed, snapping back to reality at the sound of the familiar drawl. He couldn’t get any words out, mouth dry enough he could taste dust.

“Aw, don’t tell me you forgot who I am already! It’s me, Watanabe Katashi!”

Yoru barely registered the words, eyes shooting down to the teen’s feet as he took another step towards them.

Panic gripped at his chest, constricting his lungs as he took a step back only to fall back onto the walkway around the cabin, Yoru’s ankle throbbing and pain lancing up his leg from the fall. “S-Stay away….” He choked out, eyes wide.

The face in front of him was flickering, switching between a Cheshire grin and sweet smile. Yoru couldn’t move, frozen in place as Watanabe took another step towards him.

[](https://ibb.co/hubLQA) [](https://ibb.co/cVi0QA)

_His head hurts he can’t feel his leg why can’t feel his leg—_

Yoru flinched as a loud thud and shout echoed through the air, breath catching in his throat as the sensation of falling while reality crashed down around him made his head spin.

Endou and Fubuki were both standing in front of him, blocking Watanabe from his view.

 “Ow!” Watanabe whined, his voice sending shivers down Yoru’s spine and a pulse of pain up his leg. “What the hell was that for?!”

“Yukimura doesn’t want to see you!” Touko snapped, “Can’t you see that?!”

“Huh? Why not, we’re friends!”

“If you’re going to cause one of my students’ distress, you need to leave.” Yoru flinched at the sound of Hitomiko’s voice, looking at her with wide eyes.

Watanabe clicked his tongue, leaning around Fubuki. The movement caused Yoru to snap his attention back to Watanabe, and he froze.

“Hey, Yukimura~” He sang, grinning as Fubuki shifted to block his view once again. “We’re friends, aren’t we? Come on, tell them!”

A whimper slipped from Yoru’s throat without him wanting it to, Watanabe’s innocent eyes turning into a sharp glare at the sound. He couldn’t make any words come out, panic gripping tightly at his chest.

“Leave.” Fubuki said, voice leaving no room for argument.

Silence filled the air, Watanabe leveling the others with a glare.

“…Fine. I already saw what I wanted to, anyway.” He snapped a moment later. Yoru looked at the ground, stomach churning as his eyes fell on his leg. He could hear Watanabe walking away, sure he wore the same bloodthirsty smirk on his face that had been there years ago.

“Ah, right….” Watanabe turned around once again, Fubuki and Endou tensing in return. “You’re Fubuki Shirou, yeah?”

Yoru glanced up, defensiveness rising in place of the panic. “D-Don—”

He froze at the sight of Watanabe’s narrowed eyes and shark-toothed smile.

“You know, whatever you’re trying, you’ll never succeed. A fallen star’s already crashed and shattered beyond repair.”

“Leave!”

Yoru winced, Watanabe’s comment slashing his heart. Watanabe was right. He _was_ broken. He couldn’t do anything when it mattered, no matter how badly he wanted to.  Embarrassed and angry, Yoru grit his teeth, feeling sick to his stomach as Watanabe let out a sharp laugh.

“Bye bye, Yuki~ Let’s play again soon, okay?”

It felt like static had filled his ears as Watanabe left, Yoru barely able to hear even his own breathing. Slowly, as the teen disappeared into the trees and back to town, Yoru could feel the fear and panic dissapaiting from his chest, replaced with cold hollowness.

“Yukimura, are you okay?”

Yoru glanced at the collection of people in front of him, his heart leaping into his throat as Fubuki crouched down and placed his hand on Yoru’s shoulder with a small concerned smile.

Even though he felt anything but okay, Yoru gave his teammates and coach a weak smile. “Sorry…. I’m okay.” He croaked, clearing his throat a moment later to hide away the cracks and shakes. “Don’t worry.”

“Who was he?” Endou asked, ever curious. Aki frowned, elbowing him in the gut.

Yoru tensed, looking away from the others as he carefully stood up. “Just forget about him.” He told them, swaying slightly as his head spun. Fubuki stood up as well, holding onto his shoulders as if to catch him. Yoru smiled at him gratefully, before slipping past him and towards the caravan. “Come on, let’s get going. The ferry’s coming in a bit.”

“Wait, Yukimura!”

Yoru didn’t turn around or stop, wincing as pain laced up his bad leg with each step.

\----

“Ah, look! It’s Okinawa!” Yoru said excitedly, bouncing up and down like a little kid as he looked out at the island they were growing closer to. It’d been a few hours since the incident with Watanabe, and he’d managed to get the others away from the topic as the hole in his chest slowly started to heal itself back up. The fact they were getting closer to Okinawa certainly helped distract him from what happened, too. The closer they got, the better he felt, and he wanted to keep it that way.

“We’re almost there!”

He heard a couple of the team chuckle behind him, which normally would have embarrassed him a little, but right now he didn’t care. He’d rather have them laughing over his excitement than looking at him with a pitying, worried gaze.  

When they finally reached the island and proceeded to find a place to park the caravan, Yoru took a good, long look around the park they were in.

Nostalgia filled his chest; the area wasn’t one he’d gone to often, but still he recognized it all.

It felt good to be back. Better than he’d expected, even, considering hours before.

“According to Mr. Hibiki’s information, he should be around here, right?” Domon asked, looking at Endou, Tachimukai, and Kidou as they conversed over the possible location of the flame striker.

“That’s why we’re going to set camp up here and search thoroughly!” Endou said cheerfully. “We’re all investigating!”

“Investigating… like detectives?” Kabeyama asked excitedly, before he and Megane both acted out a daydream, trying to act cool and serious like the detectives you’d see in movies.

 Yoru chuckled, smiling at the two while they finished their skit before looking over to Endou.

“I can call or message my friends and family, if you think it may help.” Yoru offered with a small smile. “They might have heard something about a flame striker.”

“That’d be a big help, Yukimura.” Kidou agreed with a relieved sigh, before looking at Natsumi. “Where’s Coach Hitomiko?”

“She said she’d meet up with us later. It seems she hasn’t found out any valuable information either.” Natsumi explained with her own sigh, disappointed by the lack of results.

Yoru hummed thoughtfully to himself. Would this end up being a wild goose chase, then? Or would they really manage to find Gouenji?

When the team split up to go search, Yoru went along with Fubuki and Domon to go over their section of the town. While Domon and Fubuki asked the people around the area, Yoru called his family. Sadly, no one knew anything.

Well, so far.

Yoru looked down at his phone, staring at the contacts of his Oumihara teammates with his thumb hovering over the select button.

He should call them, he _knew_ he should, but it’s been months since he even responded to their texts. Honestly, the idea of talking to them made his stomach churn.

“Yukimura, any luck?” Domon asked, startling Yoru out of his thoughts.

Yoru sighed, pocketing his phone again and shaking his head. “No one’s heard about a flame striker.” He reported, rubbing the back of his neck before rolling the sleeves of his uniform up to his shoulders as the heat finally started making him a tad bit uncomfortable. “Have you guys found out anything?”

“No.” Domon sighed defeatedly, before looking at Yoru. His eyes widened.

“How are you barely breaking a sweat?” He gasped in awe, noticing that Yoru looked completely at ease in the heat while Domon and Fubuki were trying their best to stay cool.

“Well, I _did_ grow up here. The temperature really isn’t that bad.” Yoru laughed, pointing lazily at Fubuki. “Fubuki would probably feel better if he, at the very least, took off the jacket.”

Fubuki pouted at Yoru, lightly pushing Yoru’s hand away. “I told you, I don’t want to take it off.” He huffed, before sighing and continuing to fan himself with the ends of his scarf.

“Anyway, I hope it’s Gouenji.”

“Yeah, I’d sure like to see him again after so long.” Domon said softly, smiling as he looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Someoka liked Gouenji too, right?” Fubuki inquired. Domon nodded, about to respond when someone let out a whistle behind them.

 When Yoru turned to see who it was, his breath caught in his throat.

“Oh no…” He murmured, even as the boy with red hair introduced himself. He was covered in the sickly glow that only Aliea Academy was capable of; not quite as concentrated and powerful as the glow that covered the Genesis team, but still far more than Epsilon.

“So I was looking for Raimon Junior High.” The boy began with a grin. Yoru watched him warily as he came closer, trying not to let his displeasure show.

“What I mean is…” The boy walked around Fubuki, the sickly glow reaching out and trying to wrap around him as well. It made Yoru want to pull Fubuki as far away from the boy as possible. When the Aliea boy stepped near Yoru, he carefully took a step away from him. “…You’re the ones fighting the aliens, right?”

“What do you mean?” Domon asked.

“Who are you?” Fubuki turned to face the boy; Yoru shivered.

“I’m Nagumo Haruya.” The boy stated proudly, “The flame striker you’re looking for is probably me.” He smirked then, an uneasy feeling churning in Yoru’s gut as the sickly purple flared around him. “Let me show you… my shoot!”

Fubuki and Domon readily agreed, but Yoru couldn’t even find it in himself to fake the excitement they were feeling.

“Hey, you okay, Yukimura?” Fubuki asked softly, a worried crease in his brow. Yoru gave him a weak smile.

“Yeah… Hey, how about you guys watch his shoot. I’ll go tell the others we found the flame striker.” He explained as cheerfully as he could, nervousness building as both Fubuki and Domon now gave him concerned looks from how on edge he was.

Not wanting to start a scene, Yoru quickly bid the three goodbye and started back towards the caravan, pulling his phone from his pocket.

He dialed Hitomiko’s phone first, sighing in relief when she quickly picked up.

“Coach, one of Aliea’s kids is here. Says he’s the flame striker.” He said quickly, barely giving her a chance to say hello. “His name is Nagumo Haruya: dark red hair, yellow eyes. He gives off a really bad vibe.”

“Slow down, Yukimura.” Hitomiko said calmly, even though her voice caught a certain edge that made Yoru’s nerves spike. “Are you sure he’s from Aliea?”

“He’s covered in the bad glow I told you about. It’s not as bad as Genesis, but it’s pretty close.”

“Is he with you?”

“Of course not! I left him with Fubuki and Domon. He said he was going to show them his shoot and I got out of there so I could call you. I don’t know what he wants, but he didn’t seem to actively be dangerous.”

Coach Hitomiko let out a thoughtful noise, and he could picture her biting her nail as she thought about what to do.

“Okay. We’ll see what he plans on doing, first, and decide what to do from there.” Yoru gave her a small hum of confirmation, turning the corner of one of the streets. “Yukimura, one last thing.”

“What is it?”

“I want you to call that doctor and tell her you’re in Okinawa. If Aliea tries to attack, I’m going to need your eyes, and I want a doctor here in case things go bad.” A pause; Yoru could hear Endou shout something in the background.

When Hitomiko spoke again it was in a whisper. “I’d do it myself, but I don’t want the others to overhear.”

“Yes ma’am. I’ll be sure to call. I’ll be back at the caravan in about two minutes.” With that, Yoru ended the call and immediately dialed Dr. Agehira’s number.

“Hello, this is Dr. Agehira, how may I help you?”

“Dr. Agehira? It’s Yukimura Yoru.”

“Ah, Yukimura!” Dr. Agehira’s voice lost the professional tone, becoming friendlier. “Is everything alright?”

Yoru smiled slightly, a little embarrassed by the worried tone that crept in for her question. “Everything is fine, Dr. Agehira. I just wanted to tell you that I’m currently in Okinawa, and Aliea Academy is here as well. So far, they haven’t tried anything, but Coach Hitomiko wants to be on the safe side and have one of your friends keeping an eye on me during any matches we may have.”

Dr. Agehira let out short sounds of confirmation to show she was listening, and Yoru could imagine her nodding along as well. “Got it; I know just who to send. Be safe, Yukimura. I’ll let you know more details when I can.”

“Thank you!” Yoru told her before the call ended.

He slowed down considerably and caught his breath when he reached the stairs leading to where the caravan was parked, trying not to seem like he ran all the way back. He stepped forward and winced as the muscles in his bad leg protested, realizing with a sinking feeling in his gut he had probably overworked it without realizing. He, Fubuki, and Domon had gone pretty far away.

A new voice had joined the familiar ones of the team, and when Yoru felt he could properly make it up the stairs without his leg trying to collapse under him, he went to see who the newcomer was.

“Ah, Yukimura!” Touko exclaimed, smiling at him as she waved Yoru over to their little cluster. “Come meet Hijkata!”

Yoru gave the large, bulky teen a small wave, smiling. “Hello. I’m Yukimura Yoru.”

“Yo!” Hijitaka said cheerfully, holding out a hand. Yoru shook it, tilting his head curiously to the side when Hijikata seemed to study him. “Have I seen you around here before?”

“Probably,” Yoru said with a small laugh, “I used to live in Okinawa until about a year or two ago.”

“Ah, that must be it!” Hijikata grinned again, full of boisterous energy. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Yukimura!”

“Nice to meet you, too, Hijikata.”

Endou looked around, frowning slightly. “Hey, Yukimura… didn’t you go with Domon and Fubuki?” He questioned. Yoru smiled weakly.

“Oh, about that…”

“Hey!” Fubuki called as he and Domon came running up the steps a moment later.

“We found the flame striker!” Domon exclaimed; Yoru motioned towards them with a nod.

“Yeah, I was technically sent ahead to tell you that.” Yoru said with a small laugh, trying not to sound like it bothered him that they had found the supposed flame-striker.

Endou jumped in excitement, but it died out a bit as Nagumo walked up the steps instead of Gouenji. Yoru felt his own heart ache in kind; he could only imagine wanting to see someone only to find out it was someone else entirely.

Watanabe came to mind, his gentle smile clashing violently with the shark-toothed grin Yoru’s unable to stop seeing.

Actually…. He might already know.

“It’s not Gouenji…” Kabeyama murmured disheartedly, pulling Yoru away from his thoughts.

Rika looked at the others, confused. “It isn’t?”

Yoru sighed, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm his nerves. “There had always been a chance it wasn’t going to be Gouenji. I’m sorry it’s not.”

“Who’s that?” Domon asked when he noticed Hijikata. Endou quickly bounced back from his disappointment, grinning as he proceeded to introduce Hijikata to Fubuki and Domon.

“He lives nearby, so we’ve been asking him things.” Endou explained as Domon and Fubuki both said hello.

“But there’s no need for that anymore,” Fubuki said cheerfully. Yoru really wanted to say that, yes, there was still a need for it, but stayed silent, trying not to seem bothered by Nagumo’s prescence. “The flame striker is this guy, Nagumo.”

“That’s how it is. I’m Nagumo Haruya.” Nagumo said confidently, the grin on his face making Yoru’s unease even worse. “You’re the captain, Endou? Nice to meet you.”

Endou gave him a small, unsure smile that quickly turned into a happy grin. “Yeah. Nice to meet you!”

“This guy heard we were looking for him and came to find us.” Domon explained, and Touko quickly jumped in with her own questions.

“Do you live around here?”

Nagumo shrugged nonchalantly; Yoru was incredibly relieved to see that even Hijikata and Kogure seemed unsure about him. “Well, sure.” Nagumo responded.

Hijikata frowned, getting in Nagumo’s face. “Really?” Nagumo jumped, turning to look at Hijikata warily. “I’ve never seen your face around here.”

Nagumo’s cocky grin came back, and he gave Hijikata a level stare. “I’ve never seen you around, either.”

“He reeks of something like a nasty guy.” Kogure mumbled, glaring at Nagumo.

“Show them what you showed us earlier.” Domon told Nagumo, and Fubuki nodded in agreement.

“It was a really powerful shoot.”

“It’d be boring just to show them.” Nagumo said, eyes focused on the ball he was balancing on his foot. He tossed it up towards his hands and caught it with ease, smirking at the group. “Why don’t you give me a test? See if my strength is good enough for your team with your own eyes. Raimon Eleven vs. me!” He stated proudly. “How about it? If I get a point from you, I win and pass the test.”

“That’s some solid confidence.” Coach Hitomiko said from behind Nagumo, arms crossed over her chest.

“I say it because I’ve got it.”

Endou quickly agreed to all terms and conditions of the test, so the group headed for the nearest soccer field.

“Yukimura,” Coach Hitomiko began softly as she walked past Yoru. “Did you do what I said?”

“Yeah. She’ll give me more information as soon as she can. Do I…?”

“No, you don’t have to use your eyes for him.” Coach Hitomiko looked at him then. “Until we get confirmation that her friend is coming, I don’t want you using it on anyone from Aliea.”

Yoru nodded, sitting down beside Hijitaka on the bench when they got to the field. He focused solely on Raimon Eleven, already knowing what he’d see if he looked at Nagumo.

The match started, and Yoru could see the flare of power from the sickly purple in his peripherial vision.

He focused his eyes on Fubuki, activating his ability to keep track of Atsuya and Shiro. Atsuya flared as Nagumo kept the ball from falling into Raimon’s hands; Ice Ground, which utilized moisture in the ground to create its path, was being completely broken through since the Aliea boy barely ever touched the ground.

Shiro’s confidence wavered, and his glow seemed to die down a bit while Atsuya’s glowed brighter.

“That’s not good.” Yoru murmured, mostly to himself, as Nagumo scored a goal with scary ease in the outskirts of his vision.

“What do you mean?” Hijikata asked curiously, startling Yoru. He’d forgotten the other boy had been there. Yoru deactivated his ability, looking at Hijikata and smiling.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just thinking out loud, is all.” Yoru dismissed with a small laugh.

Hijikata didn’t seem to believe him, but Yoru moved his attention to Coach Hitomiko, trying to get a read on her thoughts. What were they going to do? Everyone else wanted Nagumo on the team, now that they’d seen a taste of his power.

“I’ll acknowledge that you’d be a good asset to the team.” Coach Hitomiko began, standing up and starting to walk towards the players on the field. “But before that, I have a few questions.”

“Sure.”

“If you want to fight with us, I’ll have the responsibility of watching over you. First off, what school are you from?”

Nagumo glared at Coach Hitomiko; Yoru wondered if that meant he realized that she didn’t fall for his trick, or if there was another reason.

“It’s Aliea Academy.”

 The new voice made Yoru look away from the soccer field and towards the tower off to the side of the field. Hiroto stood there at the very top, looking down on them, and Yoru was a little terrified to realize that even from here, without his ability activated, he could see the sickly glow engulfing him.

“Just how powerful _are_ they?” Yoru asked himself softly, shivering as Hiroto and Nagumo- no, _Burn_ as it was just revealed, started going at each other’s throats before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. He winced. “It’s nearly saturated their original glows completely.”

Movement in the shadows of the trees surrounding the field caught Yoru’s eye, making him freeze for a moment. His heart lodged in his throat, wondering fearfully if it was Watanabe. Hesitantly, he looked in that direction, activating his ability quickly to see the area better.

 He frowned at the sight of someone— _not_ Watanabe, thankfully— watching them, hood pulled up to hide most of their face.

 He checked to see if anyone was watching before he started in that direction. Better to investigate, after all, without the others scrambling after the stranger when they clearly didn’t want to be seen.

Yoru’s wrist was suddenly grabbed, cause him to jump from surprise and gasp. He turned to see Hijikata holding his wrist and the larger male put a finger to his lips, shaking his head.

“Is that…?” Yoru began quietly, but the flare of calm yellow in Hijikata’s mostly blue glow was all the answer he needed. “Ah, it is.”

Hijikata let go of his wrist, nodding ever so slightly.

They were quiet for a while, far enough away from the others to not really hear what they were saying as the team thought about what just happened. Oddly enough, standing next to Hijikata wasn’t awkward at all, even though they had only met an hour before at most.

Yoru continued to watch Gouenji as he disappeared into the trees and stared long after at the shadowed area. From so far away, the glow around Gouenji had been faint, but there was a sadness there that made Yoru wonder if he missed the team as much as they missed him.

“Hey, Hijikata...” Yoru started when he was sure the others were focused elsewhere, “Let him know that the others miss him, and that I hope he’ll be able to join the team again soon.”

Hijikata nodded. “Will do; he misses them too, after all.”

He looked at where Gouenji had been for a moment before looking at Yoru. “You know, you’re a force to be reckoned with if you noticed him from so far away.”

Yoru laughed softly, shrugging. “It’s just genetics.” He said with a small smile. “Nothing else to it, really.”


	23. Chapter 22: Speak No Evil, See All Colors

The next day, Tsunami appeared from the sea. He jumped off the wave, landing as gracefully as he had two days before. Noticing the surfboard’s path of descent, Yoru grabbed Megane’s collar and pulled him back so the oncoming surfboard wouldn’t land on him and sighing softly as the board landed centimeters from where Megane had been while the brown-haired boy screeched.

Tsunami lifted his goggles up and into his hair, smiling at the group. “Yo! I’ve been looking for you, Endou, Yukimura.” He greeted.

 “Hey, don’t you know how dangerous it is to come flying on us with this thing?!” Megane confronted, holding the surfboard out in front of him. Tsunami simply laughed, putting his hands on his hips as he grinned.

“Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help but want to jump in on you guys when I saw you.”

“You just need to learn to follow where the board is going to land.” Yoru supplied with a small laugh. “It becomes a bit more normal and _way_ easier, at that point.”

“Anyway, Endou,” Tsunami said, “Want to play soccer with our team?”

At those words, Yoru both grew incredibly nervous and excited at the same time. Did that mean what he thought it meant? “Tsunami, did you join the soccer club?!”

Tsunami grinned, pulling on the familiar teal short-sleeved shirt that Yoru had once worn as well.

 Yoru’s jaw dropped for a moment, before he let out an excited cheer. “You did! That’s awesome, Tsunami!”

“Soccer club?!” The others exclaimed, and Tsunami gave them a lopsided grin.

“Well, it seemed like a lot of fun last time. Anyway, I was just riding the moment.” He shrugged, and the others stared at him in disbelief while Yoru was still experiencing way too many excited jitters to probably be normal. “So, when I told the rest of the team about you, they said you must be the Raimon school who won that Football Fro-something, and now they really want to have a game with you.”

Tsunami paused, looking at Yoru this time. His gaze softened, and Yoru could feel his excitement drain completely, replaced by heat rushing to his cheeks in embarrassment from what was about to be said. He looked away from Tsunami, dreading his next words.

“They also want to see you again, Yukimura.”

Yoru crossed an arm over his chest, holding onto the one still at his side as he hugged himself. He could feel multiple gazes on him now, and he ducked his head to hide behind his bangs. A lump formed in his throat.

Thankfully, Tsunami didn’t keep the focus on him for long.

“Well, what do you say, Endou? Think of it as a way for me to save face…. Besides, I really do want to play with you guys again.”

“Of course we will!” Endou exclaimed while the nervous, anxious part of Yoru screamed no at the top of its lungs. “Right, everyone?” Endou looked at the others, and even Yoru gave a small smile and a nod of agreement. As much as anxiety clawed at his throat and chewed away at his nerves, he couldn’t deny it _would_ be a fun match.

“I cannot allow that match.” Coach Hitomiko said coldly. Once again Yoru was met with very badly contrasting emotions as everyone turned to face her.

“Who’s she?” Tsunami asked Yoru quietly, while Endou and the others demanded why they couldn’t have a match with Oumihara.

“Our coach,” Yoru explained just as quietly. Tsunami stared at her in what may have been confusion.

“Coach? Doesn’t look the type to ride around much, does she?”

Yoru shrugged, silently agreeing that compared to Oumihara’s coach, she had a pole up her butt about twenty feet long.

Coach Hitomiko looked at all of them steadily before speaking again. “Have you all forgotten what happened yesterday? Stronger opponents keep appearing in front of us one after the other. We don’t have time to waste playing against a local team that isn’t of any worth to us.”

Yoru felt a stab of irritation at her words, stamping it down as he exchanged a glance with Tsunami and looked back at Hitomiko. “Hang on, Coach.” Yoru said, stepping forward with Tsunami.

“Saying that we’re not of any worth is a bit of an overstatement, don’t you think?” Tsunami asked, calm and collected as ever.

“Oumihara is the number one team in Okinawa.” Yoru continued; Tsunami nodded. “They were going to play in the Football Frontier as well, but…” He frowned, looking to Tsunami. “What exactly _did_ happen?”

“Let’s just say there was a bit of a situation, so we didn’t end up going through.”

“Chances are it was the Coach’s fault.” Yoru added, not know everything about what happened but getting enough disheartened texts and calls from his friends to know it had to do with the Coach and his far too easy, easy-going attitude.

Tsunami nodded solemnly. “There was a festival going on at the time of the district preliminaries, and our coach got so caught up with dancing that he forgot about the match. By the time he realized it, it was already hours after the match was held, so we lost by default.”

“Hey, are you serious?” Kabeyama asked, all of Raimon shocked by the revelation. Yoru sighed in exasperation, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“That sounds exactly like him.”

“Hey, it happens to everyone once in a while!” Tsunami said cheerfully, and Raimon was once again shocked by how easy-going he was while the way Tsunami bounced back from it made Yoru smile. He’d missed this kind of optimistic and fun atmosphere.

 “Anyway, I’m here about our match, now!”

Yoru looked at Coach Hitomiko, hoping his next words could convince her to go there if the rest had failed. “I know you think Oumihara’s team isn’t that good, but I really think our team could learn a lot from them! The strategist that I worked with my first year was amazing!”

His heart sunk; Coach Hitomiko didn’t look convinced.

A beat passed, making Yoru’s heart sink further. Wad she really not going to let them have a practice match?

Coach Hitomiko soghed, crossing her arms over her chest as gave her approval.

“Then let’s get going!” Tsunami cheered, and everyone got onto the caravan.

\-----

“Yukimura, you look a little nervous.” Fubuki mentioned as they grew closer to the school. Yoru laughed weakly, feeling his heart pound in his chest. Fubuki wasn’t wrong; Yoru was, quite frankly, terrified. He was amazed his heart hadn’t lodged itself in his throat yet, although he could quickly feel it getting there.

“I, uh… I don’t know if I’m actually ready to see them yet.” Yoru admitted softly, looking down at his bad leg. “I wasn’t exactly the greatest person when I left.”

“You’ve gotten a lot better since we last saw you.” Tsunami assured, leaning over the seat to poke at Yoru’s cheek. “Even more since any of us last _spoke_ to you, really.” He gave Yoru a kind, reassuring smile. “They’ll be really happy to see you again.”

“What do you mean?” Kogure asked, leaning over as well. Yoru could feel the rest of the caravan’s attention shift to the conversation along with the question, and the new wave of anxiety cause Yoru to laugh weakly.

“Well, uh, it’s a long story that I _really_ don’t want to get into, so-“

“You guys don’t know about the accident?” asked Tsunami curiously. Yoru panicked, quickly turning and placing a hand over Tsunami’s mouth to prevent him from continuing to speak..

“Please don’t talk about it!” He begged, completely aware of how the entire caravan fell silent. It felt like even the sound of the air conditioner had stopped.

Tsunami held his hands up in surrender, understanding in his eyes even as the silence burned itself into Yoru’s skin.

Yoru removed his hand, looking away as Tsunami gave him another calm smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t.” He assured quietly as Yoru tried to ignore how everyone was staring at them.

“Was it that bad…?” Otonashi asked, the smallest hint of fear in her voice. Tsunami nodded but said nothing else.

Yoru sighed, slumping into his seat and wishing he had something to hide behind. Instead, he settled for hiding his head in his arms, shrinking from their gazes as much as possible. Fubuki patted his arm comfortingly. It burned.

 “Let’s just say it wasn’t looking good.” Yoru said softly, trying to keep his voice steady.

“…Did that boy we met on the other island—”

Fear stabbed at Yoru’s heart, his eyes widening as blind panic laced through him. “NO!!” He shouted far too quickly, flinching at his own outburst over Kidou’s question.

Static filled Yoru’s ears as he curled up even further, nails digging into his arm and scalp as he tried to ignore the feeling of eyes on his skin.

Shame filled him moments later as Yoru’s brain supplied the point that Tsunami was in the seat behind him, witnessing the same destruction all over again. Cold reality numbed his fingertips.

He was the same.

This wasn’t “better”.

\-----

Yoru didn’t say anything for a long time, hiding in the dark void his arms and legs created as he curled into himself. Slowly conversation restarted around him, until it was as if the outburst had never happened.

 _Good_ , Yoru thought, relief trickling through him, _forget it happened. Be normal._

It took a few more minutes before Yoru finally lifted his head again, not quite feeling himself but feeling as close to it as he figured he was going to get. A squeeze on his shoulder made him jump, eyes snapping to face Fubuki.

Fubuki smiled gently, eyebrows furrowed with concern. “ _You okay_?” He mouthed. Yoru shrugged, apology on his tongue. Fubuki’s eyes flashed with understanding, and the hand on Yoru’s shoulder patted it a couple times.

Yoru couldn’t deny it made him feel better.

When Yoru noticed they were almost at the school, he thought of something that made excitement buzz through his system, a smile spreading back onto his face and panic forgotten.

 Just how much did Oumihara Junior High know about Aliea?

He lifted his head, tilting it back to look at Tsunami. “Hey, Tsunami.”

“Yeah?” Tsunami asked, looking at Yoru as he turned away from the window. A silent apology passed quickly between the two as Tsunami studied the look Yoru was giving him, easily followed by, “What’s up?”

Yoru let a smirk slip onto his face, excitement and a bubble of mischief swirling inside him over the emptiness and fear. “How much does Oumihara know about Aliea Academy?”

\----

“We’re here!” Furukabu said, pulling up alongside the school’s entrance. Tsunami cheered, darting from the caravan before anyone else even had a chance to stand..

 Fear curled into a rock in Yoru’s stomach as the entire situation completely caught up with him, and he found himself anchored to his seat.

“Yukimura?” Fubuki asked, concerned. Yoru looked at him nervously.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” He whimpered, voice shaking more than he would like. Fubuki frowned, and Yoru tried to elaborate just what was killing him inside, mind flashing back to the two most recent lapses in his composure. “You saw what happened—I--  what if—I’m _not—"_

Fubuki took Yoru’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Yoru’s heart leapt back into his throat, making it hard to swallow from something entirely different from fear.

 “Have more faith in yourself.” Fubuki encouraged with a small smile. “Your friends just want to see that you’re okay… and even though you may not be completely better, you’ve come far from where you started. I know you have, even if you can’t see it yourself.”

Yoru felt comforted by the warmth of Fubuki’s hand, the anxious ball in his stomach slowly uncurling. He took a deep breath, nodded once, and stood up. Fubuki was right; besides, it wouldn’t hurt to see the others again… he missed them, even if he was scared and didn’t want to disappoint them.

 He and Fubuki left the caravan; he let go of Fubuki’s hand.

“Welcome to Oumihara Junior High!” Tsunami cheered as he led everyone down the deck pathways between the buildings of the school.

Now that he was actually standing there, over the shallows of the ocean and looking at the school in front of him, Yoru couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he took in the familiar sight. He had only gone to Oumihara for 8 months or so, but it was a place he had come to know as a second home.

His fears leeched away, replaced with a fondness Yoru wasn’t used to.

He was beyond grateful the accident hadn’t taken place here, even if almost everyone in the school at the time had learned about it.

He liked it, this warm feeling.

The sea breeze ruffled his skin, making him sigh happily.

The sigh turned into a laugh as the others in the caravan took in the school in front of them; he could understand the stunned and confused looks on their faces. Instead of a regular school building, Oumihara looked more like a seaside village or resort, with the center of the school being the soccer field.

Raimon split up and looked around the school, but Yoru didn’t follow the others. He went to the soccer field, standing in the center of it and studying the field. It had been so long since he stood here, observing and drinking in every little detail he could while students had gone to their clubs and classes.

Yep, he concluded with a small chuckle. It was nice to be back.

He saw his old teammates and coach hiding away in a descrepit corner of the field, waiting for Raimon to come onto the pitch. The sight of his friends among the tight cluster made Yoru’s heart swell, and if it weerent for the doubt still whispering to him, it would have taken everything in him to stop himself from running to them.

Yoru gave the team a small nod of greeting, earning a few perked-up heads and confused glances. He stopped himself from laughing, covering the smile with a hand as he turned away and watched as his current team wandered and explored.

After they had finishing looking around, the Inazuma Caravan joined him on the field.

“So… In all of this, where is the crucial soccer club?” Kidou asked. Shrugging, Yoru kept a smile at bay as the rest of Raimon looked around.

“Now that you mention it, I don’t see anyone around.” Otonashi said curiously, looking around with the other managers before yelping as Oumihara’s team popped out of hiding.

“Surprise!” Coach Shimizu shouted happily, and the rest of Oumihara’s team joined in, throwing their hands out towards the welcome banner they had made.

While Raimon was stunned, Yoru barked out a happy laugh that had him covering his mouth from surprise. He had forgotten just how energetic everyone was, and, in turn, just how easy it was for them to get him laughing.

“Did we surprise you? Were you surprised?” Coach Shimizu asked excitedly, leaning in close while asking the team if they had surprised them.

“They’re very surprised, Coach Shimizu.” Yoru assured, and suddenly everyone he knew from Oumihara had snapped their attention to him.

“Yukimura!” A handful of them shouted, launching themselves at Yoru in a dog-pile of a hug. Yoru barely had time to shout as all four of his old teammates tackled him, the crash making his bad leg ache. He could barely feel it, too happy to notice.

“It’s so good to see you again!” Kyan shouted while Ikemiyagi nodded in agreement, his ruby eyes locking onto Yoru’s mismatched ones.

“Why didn’t you return our calls?” The shark-like boy asked curiously. Yoru gave him a hesitant smile while Gibo lightly smacked Ikemiyagi on the back of the head, scolding him.

“Does it matter? All that matters is that Yukimura’s back!” Gibo cheered. Slowly, his old team members stood up, brushing themselves off and smiling down at Yoru as he was slowly released from their hold. Otomura stood up last, offering his hand to Yoru.

Yoru took his hand and pushed off the ground as Otomura pulled him up, the whole thing so familiar and ingrained in them it was like air was helping Yoru stand upright again. The blue-haired boy clapped his other hand over their clasped hands, looking Yoru in the eyes as he smiled at him. “Welcome back, Yukimura.” The strategist said warmly.

It was like a dam had been broken at those words, all the nervousness and dread of seeing his old friends washing away. Yoru tried to tell himself there weren’t tears in his eyes as he looked at them, taking in how they’d changed and the warm, welcoming smiles on their faces.

“I’ve missed you guys.” He admitted tearfully, voice cracking. “I’m sorry I haven’t responded to your messages, or come to visit, or- or anything like that.” Tears began to fall as he apologized for his behavior the past two years, and he wiped at his eyes with his free arm, laughing wetly. He felt overwhelmed, guilt and a warm coziness swirling in his chest. “I’m sorry, I’ve cried far too much in front of you.”

“No, no!” Kyan said quickly, reaching her arms out and shaking them wildly in a way that reminded Yoru a little of Araya. She stepped forward, smiling kindly as she did. “Don’t be sorry!”

“Everyone needs to cry now and then.” Gibo agreed, and Yoru simply laughed lightly in agreement, wiping away tears that refused to stop.

“Yukimura.”

The sound of Coach Shimizu’s serious voice pulled Yoru’s gaze away from his friends. He instead looked to the coach of Oumihara’s team, who looked unnaturally serious as he walked over to be right in front of Yoru. “It’s good to see you up and walking again, my boy.” He said softly, smiling sadly before grabbing the boy and pulling him into a tight hug. “We’ve missed you.”

Yoru was frozen, stunned by the blanket of comfort his old coach had just wrapped him in. Slowly, he blinked, tears falling from his eyes as he let the words seep into his skin.

“I didn’t want to come back until I could face you again.” Yoru told them quietly, hugging his previous coach tightly. “I wanted to show you guys I was better.”

“You’ve grown so much in the past year and a half.” Coach Shimizu placed a hand on Yoru’s shoulder as he moved him away, tears and pride in his eyes. “You fell out of your rhythm, but you found it again. I’m proud of you for being able to pick yourself up.”

“Yeah, Yukimura’s much better now, and that’s all that matters!” Tsunami cheered, looking back at Raimon and, more specifically, to Fubuki. His smile widened. “I hear we have you to thank for that, Fubuki.”

“Huh?” Fubuki asked, surprise and confusion making his cheeks color a light dusting of pink.

 Yoru was full on blushing, lightly shoving Tsunami. The taller boy laughed heartily, barely being moved by the shove.

“I told you that in confidence, Tsunami!” Yoru whined, face bright red as his old friends and Raimon quietly laughed. Tsunami grinned slyly, laughing and pulling Fubuki and Yoru into a hug.

“Aw, you two are so cute!” He teased, ruffling their hair. Yoru let out a strangled whine while Fubuki only blushed, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

With another cheerful laugh, Shimizu’s gaze went over to Raimon, taking in the kids that his previous student had come to know.

His eyes fell onto Coach Hitomiko, and he immediately rushed over to her, actions and words once again become excited as he leaned in close with a vibrant blush on his cheeks. It left Yoru and his friends reeling slightly from the sudden change, but Yoru could already feel the laugh bubbling in his throat.

Yep. Coach Shimizu was the same as ever.

“My, my, my, it’s such an honor to meet you here!” Coach Shimizu said, “That magnificent leadership you showed during the Football Frontier!”

Yoru sweat-dropped, a weak laugh escaping him as Coach Shimizu mistook Hitomiko for Raimon’s other coach. “Uh, Coach Shimizu… That’s not…”

“Thank you. I’ll be sure to pass along what you’ve said to Coach Hibiki.” Coach Hitomiko said with a small smile, and Coach Shimizu froze, eyes growing wide as he tried to rectify his mistake.

“…Are we sure he doesn’t need glasses?” Yoru quietly asked Otomura, who laughed and shrugged, shaking his head.

“Is the rest of your team filled with people like him?” Natsumi asked Tsunami, who grinned and nodded.

“Yeah! We’re always riding the beat.” He started introducing the team to Raimon, and Yoru laughed softly at Raimon’s reaction to the team.

“Oumihara is a school for people who love the sea, and everyone’s pretty easy going.” Yoru explained, motioning to his old team as he spoke. “You get used to it.”

“But the one who rides the best beat here, is Otomura Gakuya.” Tsunami said happily, motioning to Otomura. “He’s the team’s number one groove man.”

“He’s the strategist that worked with me on the field when I played.” Yoru explained. “I’m not going to tell you how, because that’d ruin the surprise when you play in the match, but I’d say we worked pretty well with each other.”

“I’ve heard a lot about your team.” Otomura explained, smiling at Raimon and Oumihara. “I look forward to our game.”

“Yukimura! Are you going to be playing?” Ikemiyagi asked hopefully.  Yoru shook his head, smiling apologetically.

“Sorry, I’m not.. really allowed to play soccer anymore- doctor’s orders.” His friends on Oumihara’s team let out whines of disappointment, but they also nodded in agreement and accepted the fact he could no longer play with ease.

When the teams began to warm up for the game, Yoru spent the time with Oumihara. He introduced himself to the first and second years on the team and caught up with Coach Shimizu on what had been going on since Yoru left.

“We’ve started taking precautions when it comes to our dodges and how we go about training the legs for speed and power.” Coach Shimizu explained softly, “We don’t want what happened to you happening to anyone else, and we think this may help.”

Seeing his previous coach so completely serious was odd, making Yoru tense and uncertain because he _knew_ what he was talking about. He knew where this was going and even though he didn’t want Raimon to hear, or even think about the accident for the third time since getting near Okinawa, he knew it was going to come up around his old team.

Everyone on the team from his time at Oumihara held some form of guilt over what had happened, even though none of them were at fault.

“You know that it wasn’t your fault, Coach Shimizu.” Yoru said slowly, looking away. “What happened was just that, an accident.”

“I don’t like calling it that.” Coach huffed, frowning as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You and I both know that it was no such thing.”

Yoru sighed, hackles rising. “Well then, can we just keep calling it that?” He hissed, frowning at the ground. “I don’t want to talk about it, I don’t want to remember it, and I _really_ wish all of you would stop acting like it’s all your faults.”

Coach Shimizu frowned. “Yukimura, you can’t keep avoiding talking about it.”

“I’ve talked about it with a therapist.” Yoru said quickly, voice carrying a tone of warning as his heart raced with the uncertainty and fear that came with thinking of the accident, of the past 48 hours and how _someone_ was going to insist he tell them what’s going on. “I don’t want to talk about it any more.”

“Yukimura…” Coach Shimizu began, “This isn’t something you can just ignore. You’ve gotten better, yes, but it still very clearly haunts you…”

Yoru groaned and sighed, scrubbing his face and grabbing at his hair.

He was tired of adults treating him like he was five and knew what was best for him.

“Coach Shimizu, I know I may seem like I’m still fighting to keep my head up above the water, but I’m okay now. I’m able to float again.” He looked out at the field, where the teams were starting to get into position. “I may not be able to swim back to shore, or even stay afloat for as long as I’d like, but… At least I’m back at the surface.” He looked back at Oumihara’s coach, smiling weakly. “I’m not drowning anymore.”

Yoru stood up, sighing a bit. “I mean, look at me.” He motioned to himself, grinning at his coach. “I beat the odds and can walk almost perfectly again.”

“You’re smiling and laughing again, too.” Coach Shimizu said with a small laugh. He fell silent, eyes focused on the ground. After a few moments, he sighed, looking back up at Yoru. “…You’re right. I suppose I should let you do this yourself, at your own pace.”

Yoru nodded, smile brightening. “Thank you for caring so much about it, Coach Shimizu.”

“I’ll always care.” Coach Shimizu said with a smile, “You were a part of the team, and one of my students.”

Yoru smiled gently, giving Coach Shimizu a short mock, two-finger salute. “I look forward to the match.” He announced, heading over to the benches that Coach Hitomiko and the managers sat at.

“Is everything okay, Yukimura?” Aki asked as Yoru sat down, concern in her eyes. Yoru smiled, nodding.

“Everything’s just fine, Aki.” He assured, looking down at his pocket when his phone pinged.

He pulled out his phone as the match began, seeing the email from Dr. Agehira. Her friend had a clear schedule for the next couple of days, luckily, and she had attatched their phone number and address as well. Yoru sent the message to Coach Hitomiko, who nodded after she checked her phone.

Yoru turned his attention to the match, humming faintly when he saw how surprised Raimon was by how easily Oumihara could slip around them.

Otomura hadn’t lost his touch. None of them had. In fact, it was clear to see they had gotten even better over the past year and a half. He also noticed that their usual start to the games continued to be more of a fun, pass the ball around and play kind of start, rather than taking the game seriously.

“Same old Oumihara,” He chirped, leaning back on the bench and watching as the teams played their hearts out.

He cheered along with Oumihara every time, wanting both teams to do well and have fun. It wouldn’t be fair if he favored one over the other, and besides, the looks Natsumi, Aki, and Otonashi were giving both Oumihara and him were actually rather entertaining.

“I told you they were good.” Yoru smirked, looking at Coach Hitomiko as Oumihara flawlessly dodged and stole the ball from Raimon with Otomura’s instructions. “Otomura has an _amazing_ sense of rhythm.”

“It is… surprising,” Coach Hitomiko admitted, sighing and playing with a lock of her hair. “But I still think we should be training, not having this match.”

“This _is_ training. Oumihara can teach them how to adapt to new situations.” Yoru explained, rolling his eyes at Hitomiko’s persistence they were wasting time. “How do you handle someone who knows your rhythm and uses it to their advantage better than you do? How do you find that rhythm and adjust it in the first place without showing any sign of doing so?” He smiled, looking back out to the field as Rika and Touko managed to score. “How do you find the opponent’s _weakness_?”

“I thought _you_ found the weaknesses in the team.” Aki frowned, making Yoru shrugged.

“When we worked together, I called out directions. Which way to move, how to do it… Who to avoid,” He explained, smiling ever so slightly as he remembered the matches he used to do. “Otomura would call out the rhythm of their movements. We were like the tide and its currents. He was the rise and fall, while I was the push and pull.”

“You guys really are people of the ocean.” Natsumi sighed heavily, clearly exhausted by the way Yoru and Oumihara acted. “I haven’t heard a single one of you not mention something related to the sea.”

Yoru laughed, shrugging once again. “Welcome to Okinawa!” He paused, thinking for a moment. “Or, well, Oumihara Junior High, I guess.”

At half time, Yoru smiled at the others as they came over to benches. “Nice job scoring!” He told Rika and Touko, before smirking at the team. “You guys figured out what Otomura specializes in, huh?”

“Do you have anything to add?” Kidou asked curiously. Yoru hummed, pretending to think about it before shrugging and giving them a sly smile.

“Well, it wouldn’t be a learning experience if I gave it all away, now would it?”

\---

The match was fairly even, once everyone ended up finding the other team’s weakness. Of course, Oumihara was unable to score a goal in the end, but Tsunami had learned something and Endou was one step closer to figuring out his grandfather’s technique.

With Tsunami’s help, Endou was sure to figure it out completely.

“Well that was a nice game!” Coach Shimizu cheered, coming over. “After a nice game, let’s ride on with a nice barbecue!”

“Yay!” Oumihara’s team cheered.

Yoru laughed and clapped a bit, shaking his head good-naturely. “They never change.” He said to himself with a laugh, looking over to his current team. “Come on, I know you guys are excited to practice, but this will be a really nice way to end the day!”

“Sounds like fun.” Fubuki said with a hum, and the others nodded their agreement.

“Huh, where’d your coach go?” Coach Shimizu asked when he noticed that Coach Hitomiko had disappeared from the field.  Yoru smiled sympathetically at him as Touko explained that Coach Hitomiko would wander off by herself a lot.

“Oh, poor- ack!!” Yoru yelped, falling to the ground in another dogpile of his Oumihara friends.

“You guys _have_ to stay the night!” Kyan pleaded from her place atop Gibo’s back.

“It’d be really nice if we could catch up with Yukimura, and we want to learn more about you guys, too!” Gibo continued, when Ikemiyagi jumped in.

“It can be a big party!”

Raimon stared as Yoru laughed and shook his head goodnaturedly, smiling in exasperation from beneath the dogpile, and soon they too were laughing and agreeing to spend the night.

\-----

On the beach beside Oumihara that afternoon, the teams enjoyed grilling shish-kabobs and having fun along the seashore.

Yoru giggled from beside Fubuki as Kyan tried to feed him and he politely stuttered out a “No, thank you.” Kyan shrugged lightly in response, accepting the nervous decline with ease before turning to Yoru and offering it to him instead.

“No thank you, Kyan.” He said with a small hum. “I’m good with what I have right now.”

“Okay!” Kyan hummed, starting to eat it herself. No point in letting it go to waste, after all. Yoru smiled, taking a bite of his own food.

“So what exactly are you doing with Raimon, Yukimura?” Gibo asked, catching his friends’ attention, “You said you moved to Hokkaido and joined Hakuren. Raimon is in Tokyo.”

“We’re on a mission to become the strongest team in the world, so we’re a mix of all sorts of schools with Raimon as the base.” He said with a small hum, taking another bite of his shish-kabob. “There’s a school that’s destroying other junior highs left and right with soccer.”

Kyan gasped, eyes growing wide. “No way! Who would do such a thing?!”

Yoru smiled almost secretively, glancing momentarily to Tsunami and Raimon before looking back at his friends.

“Aliens.” He stated, 100% serious, and his friends from Oumihara gasped, reeling back in shock.

“No way!! Seriously?” Ikemiyagi asked. Yoru nodded, trying to keep the large grin he wanted to wear at bay.

“Yeah. They’re suuuper weird!” He started, fighting against a smirk as his friends started listening with rapt attention. Fubuki simply raised an eyebrow at him, an amused smile slipping onto his face.  Yoru didn’t look at him, too focused on his old friends. “They’re gigantic!” He threw his arms out wide, as if to show just how big they were before starting to bring his hands in close and holding them up by his head as he crept closer to his friends.

He continued to describe the “aliens” they were fighting, and soon enough all his friends- minus Otomura, who had already caught on to what Yoru was doing- were huddled together, staring at Yoru with wide eyes. “Their skin is green, eyes a beady red, and they have long, sharp teeth that can _chomp_ you in half- rawr!”

He let out a playful roar as he mimicked a jaw snapping shut with his hands, causing Gibo, Ikemiyagi, and Kyan to let out screams and hug each other tightly. Yoru giggled and nearly beamed at them, and even Otomura let out a small laugh from beside his old counterpart, hiding a small smile with his hand.

“Just kidding~!” Yoru sang, giving his friends a wink.

 Kyan pouted. “Yukimura!” She scolded, although all of them let out their own, happy laughs.

“We _are_ fighting supposed aliens, though.” Yoru explained with another small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck almost bashfully. “They’re trying to take over the world with soccer, and Raimon here is gathering up strong members to try and beat them.” He motioned to Raimon while he spoke. “Fubuki and I joined them when they came to Hakuren a few weeks ago.”

“What do they look like?” Ikemiyagi asked excitedly. Yoru shrugged, not sure they were expecting to hear.

“Regular kids. They’re just… a little messed up, I guess.”

“Messed up?” Tsunami asked, walking over with Endou and Raimon’s managers.

Yoru nodded, trying to find the best way to explain. “Not in the head, or anything, but… Their power is messed up. They’re being tainted.”

“You’ve said that before. What do you mean?” Kidou asked, walking over as well. Raimon wasn’t far behind.

Yoru bit his lip, sighing. He supposed it was time to let Raimon know about his ability, even if he didn’t want to tell them yet. “Well… Remember how I mentioned, after Gemini Storm, that I could feel an…” He cringed, “Aura around them?”

“Huh? What’s with all the psychic mumbo-jumbo?” Kogure asked, frowning as he walked over, and Yoru winced.

“Yeah, it does sound like that.” He agreed softly, before continuing after everyone else had nodded. “Well, I kind of… lied. A little. Sort of.” He paused, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t really…. Feel the auras. I _see_ them.”

The shock and confusion that rolled off of Raimon could have rivaled an actual tsunami. Fubuki stepped a little closer to Yoru, and such a simple movement made him feel more at ease.

“I… don’t get it.” Endou said slowly, frowning as he tried to understand the impossible. “You can see… auras?”

“That’s impossible.” Rika scoffed. “That’s just something those fortune-teller fakes say in order to make money.”

Yoru laughed weakly, slightly irked to hear such a comment from the girl who thought Ichinose was married to her all because he ate a certain food dish.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is.” He agreed once again. “Most people who say they can see it _are_ fakes. I’ve never met anyone who can see a person’s glow like my family can. I’ve even asked around and looked.”

“Yoru’s eyes have a similar magic that our hissatsu techniques have.” Coach Shimizu explained, walking over and placing a hand on Yoru’s shoulder. “When he focuses hard enough, he can sharpen his sight and see the physical colors that make up the core qualities of that person.”

Raimon continued to look at Yoru, utterly confused, and he sighed. He was quiet and stared at the ground, trying to figure out how to explain.

“For example…. Endou’s glow is blindingly bright; a mixture of white, orange and red. He’s courageous, pure, friendly, and above all else, he’s passionate. Tachimukai’s is almost the exact same, except he’s got a bit of brown mixed in.”

“But anyone could figure it out. The colors that auras represent are all easy enough to find online.” Kidou said, frowning slightly. “How can we be sure you’re telling the truth?”

Yoru sighed, running a hand through his hair. “My family has records. Old, old records, that date before internet. They also have medical records…. signed by some really important doctors, apparently, if the reactions we’ve gotten are anything to go by.”

Kidou frowned, and he looked like he was debating asking if they could see them.

“Kidou…. Even if you don’t believe him, you have to admit that his eyes _are_ insanely sharp.” Natsumi said with a small sigh, looking at Yoru. “So what does that have to do with Aliea?”

“Their glows…” Yoru began, looking down and kicking at the ground. “They’re poisoned, I guess.”

“Poisoned?” Everyone around Yoru asked, and Yoru nodded slowly.

“It’s hard to explain… First, you all need more background information on just how intricate these glows can be.” Yoru took a deep breath, waiting for anyone to object. When only silence and rapt attention vibrated through the air, he continued.

“Everyone has their own, personal mix of colors. They may have similar color schemes, but the reasons behind the colors may be different… There are bad colors and qualities, too. Some people have that type of glow surround them constantly, but usually it’s just… flashes; momentary feelings that had grown over time, or hit like a floodgate that opens for only a second. An example of _that_ is Kazemaru.” He paused, letting what he had said settle in the others for a moment before continuing.

“Kazemaru’s glow is usually strong and filled with kindness. A really, really pretty mix of blues and teals with a little bit of green and dash of red. But during that last match with Aliea- that moment we realized Epsilon _wasn’t_ the last team we’d have to fight, his glow flooded with a dark, uh, gross and sick looking yellow while the reddish tint that signified his passion just disappeared entirely.”

He fell silent again, biting his lip and the disheartened looks on his teammate’s faces at the mention of Kazemaru’s departure.

“I know that’s still a really sore spot.” He apologized, “But it’s the best example I can give to you right now.”

“So… Aliea’s glow?” Otomura asked, pulling everyone back to why Yoru had brought Kazemaru up in the first place.

“Right,” Yoru sighed, “I’m almost there… Sometimes, emotions or certain qualities… like, um, if they don’t mind me using them as an example, Shiro and Atsuya, end up manifesting or being felt so strongly they can be seen without me using my ability.”

Fubuki’s eyes widened slightly. “ _That’s_ how you’ve always known.” He whispered in awed surprise. Yoru gave him a small smile, feeling heat warm his cheeks before he finally turned his attention back to the current question about Aliea.

“Aliea Academy should, by all accounts, be the same. There is nothing special about them, as far as I can tell--“ He could see the oppositions coming and he held up his hands to keep them quiet, raising his voice ever so slightly, “ _But_ , there is something they are using to amplify their power. Something that gets more and more concentrated as the teams go up in rank. It’s snuffed out their individual glows to become a sickly purple that screams malevolence and toxicity, and it’s powerful enough I can’t look anywhere near them without my eyes hurting a little.”

Otonashi gasped. “That’s why you haven’t been looking at them!” She exclaimed, and Yoru nodded.

“Whatever is giving them their inhuman speed and power… it’s changing them, slowly. If they are doused with any higher dosage than Genesis of whatever it is…” Yoru bit his lip, looking at the ground for a long moment before looking back up at the people in front of him. “It won’t be good.”


	24. Chapter 23: Shattered

****

The tide tickled Yoru’s feet as he looked out at the sea of stars reflecting in the waves, the sound of the ocean lulling him into a conteted state. His hands, protected from the night’s chill by his jacket, quivered as they wrapped around his legs.

Sleep tugged at his eyes, causing them to occasionally droop as his body tried to get Yoru to go back to sleep. He’d woken from a nightmare about an hour ago and snuck out of the dorm room at Oumihara’s training building to take a short walk along the shore and back. The feeling of someone watching him had prickled the back of his neck for a good fifteen minutes before he finally got himself to stop feeling paranoid.

His feets were coated in wet sand, his shorts not much better if he was being honest. He’d taken to settling in the sand near the school and just at the edge of the tide, allowing for his feet and anything else touching the sand to get wet.

Now that he was alone with his thoughts, back in the place where his life had been changed for the worst…. He wasn’t as sure it was such a good idea to come here as he had been on the way over.

Guilt and shame churned inside him as his earlier panic attack and outbursts flew to the forefront of his mind, making him bury his head in his knees. He had been doing so well. The attacks had stopped aside from the bad nightmares. Hadn’t really had an outburst since he got outside the cloud of guilt that was coating over pretty much everyone he knew.

Then he came here, to Okinawa, came across Watanabe, and it was as if all his progress had disappeared completely.

Yoru felt tears prick his eyes, frustrated with himself.

“Why’d I know you’d be here?”

Yoru gasped, quickly rubbing his eyes against his sleeves before he lifted his head and met Fubuki’s gaze.

“Fubuki! Why are you awake?”

“I just happened to wake up and noticed you weren’t there. Figured maybe you’d be out and about like usual when you can’t sleep.” Fubuki explained, walking over and sitting down next to Yoru. “What’s up?”

Yoru laughed humorlessly, looking back out at the sea. “Nothing. Just a nightmare.”

Fubuki nodded beside him, leaning back on his hands. He stayed quiet for a while, thinking over something. Yoru sighed, flopping back onto the sand.

“…So, you don’t have to tell me what’s going on,” Fubuki began after a while, “But I’m gonna repeat something someone I look up to once said: ‘Progress isn’t just an uphill slope. There will always be a downhill run somewhere along the way.’”

 _Ah, of course he’d say that._ Yoru thought, heart twisting with something ugly in the hollow of his chest. He let out a dry chuckle, turning his head to look at Fubuki. “I’ll let my mom know you hold her advice so highly.”

Fubuki frowned, a small squawk of indignation leaving his lips as he leaned over and shoved Yoru’s shoulder. “What? No! I was talking about you, idiot.”

Yoru’s eyes widened, cheeks heating up against the chill of the night. He spluttered out his own stunned squeak, stumbling over his words. “Huh? M- _Me?_ ”

“Yeah!” Fubuki laughed, rolling his eyes with a smile on his face. “Why would I be talking about your mom? Like, don’t get me wrong, she’s great, but _you’re_ the one who’s always been there for me and is always reminding me it’s okay to have bad days.”

Yoru blushed, looking away from Fubuki and back at the stars. He didn’t know what to say to that.

Fubuki hummed, laying down next to Yoru. “You’re too hard on yourself. You know you can have bad days too, right?”

“I don’t like them.”

“No one does.” Fubuki said sympathetically, “I know Shiro and I don’t like it much when we have bad days…. Or I guess bad months.”

Yoru couldn’t stop his sleep-addled body from drawing a chuckle of out him, covering his mouth with a hand as he did. “Sorry,” He quickly apologized, followed closely by a groan and a lighthearted “I’m tired” before he turned to look at Fubuki. “That’s not funny. But I am glad you’re being so open about the fact you and Shiro aren’t having a good time right now.”

Fubuki grinned, looking at Yoru. “No offense taken, trust me. I never would have expected me to admit it either.”

Idly, Yoru noticed that the stars above them were reflecting in Fubuki’s eyes. The faint amber glow around the cool grey irises that showed Atsuya was the one in control of Shirou’s body now instead of the full change did little to dull the light created by the moon and the few bright pinpricks of stars dotting across them. The hollowness in his chest dispersed, replaced with a warmth that filled him to the brim, almost startling him in its gentle intensity, and he quickly looked back at the stars themselves.

They spent the next couple minutes in silence, watching the stars. Here in Okinawa there was less galaxies and colors painting the sky than what appeared in the cold mountains of Hokkaido, but the ever-present tug to fall asleep beneath them was still there, and slowly Yoru could feel himself losing the battle to keep his eyes open.

“Yukimura. Hey, you still with me?”

Yoru let out a sleepily mumble in response, unaware of when he’d closed his eyes but struggling to open them again. Fubuki laughed beside him, muttering something that sounded like “Oh course he’s sleepy _now_ of all times,” under his breath fondly.

 Yoru finally managed to wrench his eyes open to give his friend an unamused look. Fubuki laughed again, standing and taking Yoru’s hands in his.

“Alright, up we get.” Fubuki grunted softly, slinging one of Yoru’s arms over his shoulders. “We’re going back to bed.”

\--------

Later that day, as Endou and Tsunami worked on learning the hip technique required for Fist of Justice and the rest of the team worked on practicing like normal, Yoru found himself itching to do something other than sit there watching.

So, he did what he thought best and decided to go on a walk around town under the excuse of going to look for any other flame striker in the area.

Seeing as he already knew where their flame striker was, he didn’t really feel the need to actively look around for him, but he did try to spot him in the more shaded areas of town just to know Gouenji wasn’t about to disappear some time soon.

It was a bit lonely walking around by himself; he’d gotten used to walking with Fubuki at his side, or even Natsume, Haruka, and Hyouga. By himself, the town felt like it had lost some of its luster and only stayed exciting because it was refreshing to see the green grass and sandy beaches. Otherwise the fear of coming across Watanabe again was ready to consume him whole.

Still, it was also nice to get away from the constant soccer practices that he couldn’t actually participate in. He didn’t know how the other managers could stand it, being so close to the ball and yet never being able to touch it and kick it around with the others to the point you’re exhausted.

It was easier back in Hokkaido, where he had breaks between sessions to get over the heartache of not being able to join in most of the time. On this mission to defeat Aliea, though, he couldn’t so much as sit and relax without being surrounded by soccer in some way. He still joined in when he could, but it felt pointless…. empty.

The others were leveling up faster and more powerfully than Yoru would have ever imagined in the past, and he was steadily being left behind by all of them.

Even Tsunami was going to be more powerful than him soon enough, and as they continued to grow, who would want to waste their time with someone weaker than them?

Yoru paused, his heart leaping into his throat at the stray thought. He shook his head quickly, slapping his own cheeks to banish the thoughts away. What was he thinking? Endou and the others, get bored of simply having fun with their friends?

The day that happened would be the day pigs flied.

“Right, all I have to do is keep practicing in my own time…. I’ll get even better and then I can be at their level again.” He whispered to himself, trying to get the feeling of his heart lodged in his throat to go away. “That’s all I have to do.”

The stretch of his scar as he took another step whispered otherwise.

\---

The next few days went on like they normally did with the caravan; the team practiced like normal, while Endou and Tsunami worked on trying to get Endou to do the proper movements for his new hissatsu.

When Endou finally mastered the technique, though, the excitement was short lived.

A soccer ball came crashing down to the ground, a large purple explosion following it as Epsilon made their appearance. Yoru squinted against the brightness, blinking spots out of his vision as Epsilon appeared through the dust. What Yoru saw caused his eyes to burn and heart to lodge his throat—Epsilon was completely coated in the sickly aura, so much so that it was rolling off them in waves and their eyes— scelera and all— glowed a violent, bloody red.

Yoru quickly looked away as his vision momentarily blurred and a short spike of pain laced up his eye into his head. He rubbed his golden eye, looking over at Hitomiko and Shimizu with wide eyes when his vision started clearing again. This was bad.

Epsilon had gotten stronger—much stronger.

Hitomiko gave a subtle nod when she caught Yoru’s gaze, her eyes telling him that he needed to be the one to call. Yoru gulped, subtly slipping away and pulling out his phone as he did. It rang twice before someone picked up, and he wasted no time in speaking. “Dr. Haruno? It’s Yukimura Yoru, the boy Dr. Agehira told you about? Aliea is here at Oumihara.”

“Yukimura?” The doctor’s confused repeat of his name turned into a knowing gasp, “I’ll make my way over there quickly- come find me when I get to the school.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Now tell me a few things while you can— have your eyes already started hurting?” He could hear clipped, hurried footsteps across a tiled floor on the other end of the line; wondered if they were starting to write stuff down as well.

“A little,” He admitted, knowing it was better to be truthful than to give a white lie. “When they arrived, I looked at them for a few moments before my vision blurred- when I looked away there was sharp pain in my left eyes for a brief second and then nothing. Then my sight went back to normal.”

Dr. Haruno was quiet for a few moments. “Okay,” He said, “Okay, don’t look at them until I get there, you hear me? I need to make sure your eyes are well enough to help the team, and I’ll need you to describe things in further detail.”

“Got it,” Yoru said softly, nearly jumping out of his skin when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. “I have to go. I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

“Good.”

Yoru ended the call, sighing in relief as he placed a hand over his heart when he saw Otomura behind him. Otomura, on the other hand, looked worried. “Are you okay, Yukimura?”

“I’ll be alright.” Yoru said softly, smiling slightly. “It’s just, uh…” He tapped his phone lightly in his other palm, looking around to make sure no one from Raimon could overhear. He sighed, looking at Otomura again.

“Remember when I said that Aliea Academy made my eyes hurt?” Otomura nodded, his frown deepening. Clearly, he already knew where this was probably going. Yoru continued explaining anyway, “Well, it turns out it does a lot more than just hurt… see, the glow is causing my eyes work harder than they should, and it’s making my vision blur. Epsilon caused it to blur pretty badly the last time we fought them, too, so I went to a doctor in Fukouka to see if they knew what was going on.”

“And..?”

“And,” Yoru sighed again, smiling weakly at his old friend, “It turns out if I keep going like this then my eyes will either bleed and I’ll need to stay in a hospital for at least a couple of days, or the worst-case scenario is that I’ll go blind.”

“ _Blind_?!” Otomura spluttered, eyes widening as he looked at Yoru. Yoru winced, looking around a few times to make sure no one overheard before nodding.

“Yeah. The doctor I just called is going to come here and determine if they can rule out blindness or not.”

“Yukimura, that’s—“

“Dangerous, I know.” Yoru sighed, smiling weakly at Otomura. “Don’t worry so much, I’ve heard that exact thing ten times already from Coach alone.”

Otomura’s frown deepened. “Then why don’t you stop using your ability?” He asked, concern in his eyes as he held out his hands like it was showing the point he was making. “Yukimura, pushing yourself too far is what hurt your—“

“What happened was a stupid move on my part, yes, but it was also an accident. It could have happened to anybody.” Yoru interrupted quickly, heart rate spiking for the briefest of moments as anger made his lips curl ever so slightly into a snarl.

Right. Otomura and the other team members just thought it really _was_ a pure accident.

 Yoru shoved that thought away with a shake of his head, reminding himself to focus on the present. He couldn’t get mad at his old teammates: they didn’t know the truth— only his family and Coach Shimizu did.

“I’m not going to stop, Otomura. You know that.” He said instead, wincing at the slight waver of his voice.

Otomura’s concern only deepened, probably misunderstanding the reason behind the falter. “Yukimura, you don’t have to do this.”

Yoru sighed, pushing his bangs out of his face and gnawing on his lip as he collected himself. “Of course I do.” Yoru said softly, “These Aliea kids are pushing and hurting themselves far more than they should because of whatever’s attacking their glows. If they keep going like this, they’ll break far worse than…” He paused, shuddering slightly as he looked down at his bad leg and disgust churned his stomach, “than my leg did— we need to keep that from happening, and I can help Raimon move forward when they get stuck.”

His friend started at him for a long time, eyes boring into Yoru. Finally, after a few long moments, Otomura sighed.

“Alright,” He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Yoru a small, fond and exasperated smile. “You make a very valid point. Just promise me something.”

“What?”

“ _Tell_ them. Before it gets bad, and someone gets hurt.”

Yoru winced, biting his lip and looking away for a moment. He knew what Otomura was saying well; he did it with Fubuki all the time, and he knew that if he was in the rest of Raimon’s shoes he’d want to know about the impending doom of his teammate’s eyesight.

Except that was where the problem lay.

Yoru, as a person, was much like Fubuki; he didn’t want to tell _anyone_ about his problems.

Telling people what was going on with him led to one of two things: either it ate away at the other person with guilt and they coddled him, or it made them step around him like he was burning coals seconds awake from catching just the right breeze to burst into flames. A bomb seconds away from exploding. Saying he hated it was an understatement. He _despised_ it.

These were his problems. He could sort it out himself, even if the guilt burned white hot in the cavity of his chest the moment the others inevitably found out.

“I can’t promise that.” Yoru admitted softly, certain in his decision as he looked back at Otomura. “I’m not going to tell them about it- it’d make them unfocused durning games, and we can’t afford it.” He said calmly. “I’m sorry.”

“Yukimura…” Otomura started, trailing off as he looked at Yoru.

Yoru knew he hated the decision, knew he hated that he was just as useless to the problem now as he was when Yoru was trapped in the hospital and healing. Yoru smiled sadly, shrugging a little as if to say, “Oh well, what can you do?”

Otomura sighed again, placing a hand on his forehead and shaking his head. “Alright, fine. You win this time.”

“Thank you.”

At Otomura’s nod, Yoru let his gaze trail back over to the huddle of his friends and teammates, eyes automatically seeking out Fubuki. When he saw his friend, his heart leapt into his throat again at the serious gaze he wore looking at Epsilon.

“Fubuki,” Yoru walked over to the Snow Prince, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be okay?”

Slowly, Fubuki nodded, eyes locked onto Epsilon. “Yeah, we’ll be fine.” He assured softly, though Yoru noticed his jaw clench a moment later. He could still hear the unease and doubt; feel how tense he was through the thin cloth of the soccer uniforms.

He felt like he should say something, except Yoru didn’t know what.

“Atsuya, I—”

“I’ll prove that I’m needed,” Atsuya murmured, “Don’t worry.”

“Both of you already _are_!” Yoru exclaimed as quietly as he could, cringing at the small tip of desperation that slipped into his voice. “When are you going to realize—“

Yoru was cut off by the sound of an announcement being set off across the town, eyes widening when Hijitaka’s voice rang out through the speakers and announced that Raimon and Epsilon were about to fight once again.

An announcement of a match. A match would pique Watanabe’s interest.

 _Watanabe would be coming here_.

“Yukimura! How do you think we should start this?” Coach Hitomiko asked, startling Yoru. Yoru nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to face her and the rest of the team, confused as he registered just what she had asked of him.

“Wait, why are you asking me, ma’am….?”

Hitomiko sighed heavily, crossing her arms over his chest and giving him a level gaze. “I thought you were our off-field strategist and informant?”

Yoru frowned, shrugging and a little lost but deciding to give his opinion on the matter anyway. He looked at the team in front of them, studying them, before looking at Fubuki and back at the team.

He knew that not having Fubuki as a forward was a dangerous move. Atsuya was the only one who’d managed to score against Epsilon, but they’d all gotten stronger and Fubuki _needed_ to see that Shiro was a crucial part of him. Keeping Fubuki from being forward would be a safe bet to make then, right? Still…

Yoru chewed at his lip, unsure of what to do. He battled through the pros and cons of the situation, and after another moment, the decision was made at the thought of Shiro disappearing beneath Atsuya’s oppressive prescence.

“Let’s do a 1-top with Rika as the forward.” Yoru said far more confidently than he felt, only turning his gaze to Hitomiko as he said the latter part of the sentence. He could feel Fubuki tense even further beside him; Atsuya was probably upset at him for this. Hitomiko hummed in thought for a moment, taking in no further explanation as she thought it over. She nodded.

“It could work.” She said softly, “We’ll give it a shot.”

Yoru nodded, biting his lip as he turned back to Fubuki. He held back a guilty wince at the look Fubuki was giving him, a painful mix of anger and betrayal.

“You need to see that Shiro is important, too.” He whispered to Fubuki, hoping he’d understand, “I’ll do what I have to in order to get you to see that.”

Atsuya growled lowly under his breath, but said nothing else, his now-amber eyes glinting dangerously. Yoru gave him his own sharp look, silently telling him to stand down. He might have more control than Shiro currently did, but Yoru wasn’t going to let Atsuya lose sight of what he and Shiro had begun to see when Yoru joined Hakuren— he was going to remind Atsuya that he and Shiro were a team, no matter what it takes.

A flash of brown and blue caught the edge of his eye, causing him to whip his head in that direction. He froze at the sight of Watanabe making his way into the stands, feeling his gaze being met even from this far away.

The sun flashed away, replaced for a moment by the darkness of night. A lump formed in Yoru’s throat.

_No!_

Yoru curled his hand into a fist, violently stomping down the panic welling in his chest and forcing himself to look away. He wasn’t going to freak out. Not again. Fubuki was the one who needed help right now.

“Coach Hitomiko,” Yoru began slowly, turning his back to Watanabe and walking over to their coach. “We might need Avalanche; do you think you could—“

“No,” Coach Hitomiko interrupted quickly, frowning. “As helpful as your shoots would be, we cannot afford to put you in against Aliea Academy anymore.” She looked at Yoru, an apologetic look on her face. “I’d love to be able to put you in, Yukimura, believe me. But with the way your eyes are right now, it’s just too dangerous.”

Yoru frowned, understanding what she meant even as frustration curled in his gut and twisted into something ugly. He felt so useless now, seeing just how close Fubuki was to breaking apart and yet being unable to do anything about it. That wasn’t even accounting for the fact he could feel the hard stare of Watanabe’s eyes on his back, assessing Yoru’s every movement to see if he had finally gotten what he wanted.

 His phone chimed in his pocket and he picked it up, seeing a message from the doctor on the screen. “Oh, he’s here.” He told Hitomiko as he opened the mail, scanning over the message. “And he’s sitting…” He trailed off, looking up from his phone and turning to the crowding bleachers behind him.

His eyes first caught the figure who was apparently Gouenji, sitting near the top of the bleachers next to who must have been Hijikata’s siblings. He gave him a short nod in hello, before letting his eyes continue to scan the stands, quickly avoiding Watanabe’s form. He spotted Dr. Haruno at the ground corner furthest from the team, the man waving him over when he caught his eye. He looked over to Coach Hitomiko, who nodded, and then the team to make sure none of them were watching. Quickly, he went over to the doctor, who sighed in relief.

“Alright, it’s far more crowded than I had hoped, but it gives us more cover and we need to get this done fast- the match waits for no one.” Dr. Haruno explained, grabbing Yoru’s wrist and carefully pulling him around the corner, out of sight of the players. “Now then, explain to me what’s been happening, Yukimura.”

Yoru nodded, quickly explaining what he’d been experiencing since the first fight against Epsilon and what the most recent experience was like. As he spoke, Dr. Haruno checked his eyes the best he could outside his office, a small frown on his face as he listened and worked.

As this went on, Yoru was slightly dismayed to hear the match start; he hoped no one noticed he was missing.

When Dr. Haruno finished he sighed, leaning back against the bleachers and crossing his arms over his chest. His eyebrows were furrowed, but he didn’t seem too distraught, which eased some of Yoru’s worry, “Okay, Yukimura… So far, it sounds like you’ll be fine. Your eyes show no sign of permanent damage, but I can see some symptoms already forming in your eyes. So, I _highly_ recommend you stop by my office at some point after the match so we can finish taking tests, and for you to be extremely careful helping your team out this match, alright?”

“Yes sir. Would you like me to bring Coach Hitomiko here, so you can tell her this?”

Dr. Haruno shook his head. “No, I’ll send an email; better to stay as inconscpicuous as possible.”

Yoru nodded, giving him a small bow of the head and a wave before lightly jogging back to the others.

“Did you find what I was looking for, Yukimura?” Coach Hitomiko asked, not looking away from the match as Yoru came over to her. Yoru quickly caught onto her meaning, and he shrugged a little bit.

“I believe so. I sent you an email of it, ma’am.”

“Great, thank you.”

Yoru nodded, settling on the bench next to Otonashi. He bit his lip, watching the feet of the players. He was glad the glow didn’t reach all the way down to a person’s feet, or his job would have just gotten a lot harder.

 Epsilon had gotten faster thanks to whatever they were using to power up, and it seemed like they had also gotten stronger. Epsilon’s sickly glows were almost always pulsing, steadily growning as they used their hisstatsu techniques.

Endou blocked Gaia Break with Fist of Justice, stunning Epsilon and making Yoru smile. They weren’t the only ones who had gotten stronger, after all, and now it was really starting to show as Epsilon’s attacks were blocked almost continuously.

 Eventually Rika got the ball and a chance to shoot, but just like Yoru was afraid of, her shoot was unable to get past Desarm’s Worm Hole hissatsu.

He’d made a mistake.

His gaze immediately focused on Fubuki as Desarm shouted that he only wanted to go against Fubuki, knowing nothing good was about to come. Yoru activated his ability, wincing as he immediately felt like he was drowning in sickly purple.

It was difficult to pinpoint any of Raimon’s glows in the sea of toxicity, but focusing on the flaring, warring red and blue through the haze was easy enough as Atsuya flared to life and took over, engulfing Shiro like a tidal wave. Shiro flattened out, sending a spike of fear through Yoru’s heart as he dwindled away before flaring to life to push against Atsuya with a vengeance.

Yoru could feel the ache in his heart grow and consume him as he watched them fight, once again leading to Atsuya taking over and Shiro starting to slowly die out. If only he was out there- he could use Avalanche with them and then they’d both see that they are needed and strong. That their existence won’t disappear if they aren’t perfect.

Desarm blocked Eternal Blizzard and Atsuya’s glow flared an ice cold blue and sickly yellow, fear taking over once again as his side of Fubuki’s glow lashed out, the sound of a roaring fire coming to mind as Yoru watched it.

He was unable to look away from Fubuki’s warring glows as Atsuya once again went to shoot and was blocked. More ice. More fear.

Again, Atsuya took the ball and used Eternal Blizzard.

Once more Desarm stopped the ball.

Like clockwork, the two went at it and Atsuya’s fire lashed out wildly against Shiro’s own wild colors.

Eternal Blizzard was shot again and again, losing power each time until Desarm could catch it with his hand as easily as a regular kick.

Yoru’s heart stopped beating as the warring colors of Fubuki’s glow froze in the air, both sides turning slate blue and a dark, ugly yellow before completely shattering like broken glass.


	25. Chapter 24: The Frost and The Phoenix

Over the years, Yoru had seen many things happen with someone’s glow.

He’d seen them change, shifting into something different as their owner grew. Seen them all gain a contented color and feel as their owner became friends with death, watched them fade and steadily turn black as their owner left the world.

He’d seen a glow fade for a moment when the owner felt helpless, seen how some of his classmates started getting odd breaks and gaps in their glows, the colors unable to properly form due to forming mental illnesses. He’s seen them heal again through his mother’s clients, slowly patching themselves up as they came to be better in their recoveries and stronger with themselves.

Yoru had seen many things involving glows, but _never_ had he ever seen one shatter.

The shatter was jarring, reminding Yoru of an icy lake cracking loudly and the crumble of an old, worn statue.

It was morbidly beautiful, in a way, as the broken remains of Fubuki’s glow fell to the ground and melted away: shining particles falling slowly, as if they were snowflakes dancing on the wind.

The still silence of the moment broke as Fubuki’s small body teetered, the remaining shards in the air twisting wildly as the air displaced them on their descent, and they clung to his shoulders as Fubuki collapsed.

Yoru gasped, his ability deactivating in seconds as he took in the sight of Fubuki falling to the ground. A pounding, painful headache slammed into his skull not even a moment later, his vision blurring to near disastrous levels so fast it made his head spin. He ignored it, far more worried about his friend.

“Fubuki!” He shouted, getting to his feet in seconds and getting held back by Coach Hitomiko when he tried to run out to him. His heart was racing a thousand miles a minute and he was almost certain he had tears in his eyes; seeing Fubuki so unresponsive as Endou lightly shook his shoulders chilled Yoru to his core.

“Coach! If you keep Fubuki out there, he’ll only get hurt again.” Aki said, and Coach Hitomiko nodded, looking to Megane after she announced she was changing players.

“No! Let me go!” Yoru begged, whirling around to face her. “Megane won’t be strong enough to break through any Epsilon’s hissatsus and—“

“He is the only player here that is fit enough to go out there, Yukimura.” Coach Hitomiko snapped, eyes hardening clear enough even the fuzzy brown circles Yoru’s sight was reduced to could show it. Yoru reeled back from the intensity, his eyes widening. Hitomiko sighed, closing her eyes tightly for a moment before she opened them again.

“Fubuki needs you by his side right now, Yukimura.” She said softly, “You’re probably the only one here who could get through to him as he is now.”

Yoru felt doubt and panic rear its ugly head; he had never been able to get through to Fubuki—if he had, this never would have happened. Fubuki would know who he was, Atsuya and Shiro would be working together, and Fubuki would not be having his second or third mental breakdown in less than a month.

If anything, he had just made it all worse.

“But….”

“If anyone can do this,” Hitomiko said firmly, far more confident than Yoru was, “It’s you.”

Yoru wanted to say that he didn’t believe her, that he was probably half the reason Fubuki was like this to begin with, but before he could say anything, Endou and Kidou were bringing Fubuki over and helping him sit down on the bench.

 Yoru quickly wiped his sleeves across his eyes to hide any signs he might have been even a little close to crying as Endou spoke to Fubuki, assuring him that they’d win this for him and everyone else.

When the players were back on the field Yoru walked over to Fubuki, crouching down in front of him and taking one of his hands gently in his own. He didn’t say anything, but he hoped his presence was enough for the time being. He’d rather say what he wanted to say in a more private setting.

He smiled at Fubuki, gave his hand a small squeeze, and let go of the hand he held to sit next to Fubuki as close as he dared to.

However, it was clear how the match would go now that Fubuki was out of the picture.

Far faster than it should have, the match spiraled downhill into a full-on bloodbath for Raimon. They were unable to even get the ball back most times, even as they defended Endou and the goal like their lives depended on it.

Your felt the desire to get onto the field fill his chest. He had Fubuki’s speed… mostly. He was sure he could at the very least get the ball back if he was careful enough. Desperate, he looked at Hitomiko, but his words froze on his tongue at the intense feeling of eyes on his back. Fear prickled under his skin; he shoved it out of the way, digging his nails into the wood of the bench. He couldn’t let Watanabe stop him; Raimon needed him, and if Coach was going to let him onto the field it needed to be sooner rather than later.

“Coach… should I…?”

“No. You’re not going out on that field, Yukimura.”

Yoru sighed, biting his lip and looking out at the blurry crowds in the bleachers where he was pretty sure Gouenji and Hijitaka were, skirting around Watanabe’s menacing figure.

‘Gouenji, if you’re going to rejoin the team, now would be a good time.’ He thought, turning back around and looking at Fubuki a second later.

This close to his friend, it was easier to see the details; Fubuki’s eyes held no light in them—he barely looked like he was registering what was going on around them. Yoru swallowed around a lump in his throat, his chest hollowed out at the sight.

The sound of the managers letting out stunned, almost terrified gasps had Yoru snapping his gaze to the field again, and what he saw— or at least, managed to see— stunned him as well.

Fist of Justice was torn through with ease, the ball flying into the net before lightly bouncing back out innocently.

Yoru grit his teeth. He had known that the Fist of Justice would someday meet a player who could break through with ease—all techniques did, even if they _were_ considered “ultimate”—but this was… frightening.

There were two options to how this kid could have broken through so easily; either Desarm was this powerful before he let himself be drenched in the whatever caused that bad glow, or he spent far more time under it than any of his teammates ever had.

Yoru wasn’t sure which he hoped it was more.

His fingers ached as he dug his nails further into the wood of the bench as the whistle for half-time blew, wishing there was something he could do to help Raimon. The teams filed off the field, Raimon draping across the ground with towels and water bottles drunk almost completely in one go while Epsilon had barely broken a sweat.

Yoru drapped a towel over Fubuki’s head when he refused to make eye contact with the others, crouching down in front of him again and making sure he, at the very least, had eye contact with Fubuki.

“You’ll be okay, Fubuki.” He promised quietly, giving his friend as confident a smile as he could make, “You’ll figure this out, and I’ll be here every step of the way.”

He didn’t get a response, but Yoru had expected that as he smiled at Fubuki, heart aching.

He so badly wanted to make Fubuki’s pain go away; show him that he was here to stay and that he didn’t care which Fubuki he was because he loved Atsuya and Shiro equally. He just wanted Fubuki to be happy and feel wanted. He wanted him to realize that Atsuya and Shiro were two halves of a whole- if one of them disappeared, the other wouldn’t be able to properly fill in the gaps left behind.

He activated his ability, his heart breaking even further when he saw just the dullest of glows against Fubuki’s skin; a dark, sickly yellow, a grey that was nearly black, and a blue tint that mixed and blurred Fubuki’s edges, like even he was fading from the loss of knowing who he was.

 “You’ll be okay.” He repeated shakily, the familiar words cold enough to burn on his tongue but heartfelt and dripping with his own hope and certainty that Fubuki would be able to get through this.

“Yukimura, did you see anything that might be able to help us?” Kidou asked, “We’re getting slaughtered.”

Yoru fell out from his crouch so he was sitting on the ground, tilting his head back so he could see Kidou as he deactivated his ability. The headache only got worse. He closed his eyes as he sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t help you, I’m sorry.”

“What?! Why not?”

“That sickly glow,” Yoru explained, opening his eyes again, “It’s… terrifyingly strong. They’ve doused themselves in it to the point I essentially can’t see _anyone_ on the field, just your glows and hissatsus.”

Clearly, that wasn’t what the team wanted to hear. They all looked away, upset. Yoru sighed again, scrubbing at his eyes with one of his hands.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out. Coach, would—”

“Once again,” Hitomiko sighed, clearly annoyed at Yoru’s persistence, “the answer is going to be no, Yukimura.”

Yoru let out an annoyed groan, flopping down completely onto the ground. “Man, this sucks!”

He couldn’t blame Coach though; he could feel a frustratingly present pressure trying to build behind his eyes and the world was still mostly smears of color even though it’s already been at least 5 minutes. He was in no shape to go out there even if he _could_ manage to score a goal against these insane kids, but Megane wasn’t going to help the situation either. Their best hope at this point was Gouenji, and he couldn’t help them for whatever reason.

He stared at the sky, mind whirling too fast for him to keep up. He hadn’t felt this useless in a long time, and it left a second, more worn down, cavity in his chest right next to where Fubuki’s pain had left its own.

“You guys are just going to have to try harder, I guess.” He said after a long moment, to which Tsunami let out a shout of agreement.

“If Fist of Justice doesn’t work, then we just have to work harder instead!” Tsunami exclaimed, giving the others a determined look. “Right?!”

“R-Right!” Kabeyama agreed, clenching his hand into a fist of determination. “I’ll do my best!”

Touko nodded in agreement, but Ichinose quickly brought the group back to reality. “But we can’t win unless we score.”

Yoru looked at the others, watching as Kidou looked over at Fubuki in thought. After a moment, the strategist stood up.

“If we get a chance, let’s go straight for a shoot. With Zel as the goalkeeper, and assuming his skills aren’t as good as Desarm’s, we should have a chance to score. Let’s score for sure… and win!”

Yoru gave the team a smile as they all nodded. “We’ll be rooting for you from here. You guys’ll win, just believe!”

“Coming from someone who just exclaimed this situation sucked, you’re singing a really different tune, Yukimura.” Tsunami teased, earning a small slap on the leg from Yoru as he huffed.

“Quiet. Just cause the situation is bad now doesn’t mean it won’t change; I have faith you guys will be able to win. This is just an _annoyingly_ large hurdle and it’s bugging the hell out of me that I can’t help you more.”

After a few more minutes of rest and deliberation, the team went back out onto the field with the second half about to start.

Yoru sat back up, massaging his bad leg in thought as he stared at the toxic cloud over the field. There had to be something he was missing. Something that he could see and pass onto the team as they played.

Everything had a fault, after all. A weakness that could easily be exploited and turned against.

The only question was what it was.

Yoru’s eyes widened in shock as Desarm stole the ball from Raimon in the blink of an eye, breezing his way through the field at a speed that couldn’t have been humanly possible. The toxic purple flared to life around the goal as Desarm used a hissatsu technique, Raimon’s defensive maneuvers about as effective as a light breeze.

The Fist of Justice flared to life, barely managing to slow the ball down as it was broken through and the ball went careening towards the goal.

Yoru winced as Tsunami stopped the ball from making it into the goal with his chest, already able to see the bruise that would form from the impact.

Epsilon continued to break through Raimon’s defenses, sending the players flying and adding more bruises to what was already sure to be a wide collection. It was painful to watch as Desarm once again used Gungnir, Fist of Justice breaking once again. Yoru’s heart leapt into his throat as all of Raimon stood at the goal in an attempt to stop the ball from making it in.

They barely made it.

All of Raimon collapsed to the ground, the toxic purple wrapping around them like it was whispering comforting words. Even without his ability, Yoru could tell that Raimon’s determination continued to go strong, but it was slowly being swallowed up by Epsilon’s poison, not strong enough to break through.

Yoru grit his teeth, having half a mind to go out there himself. Gouenji couldn’t help them, Fubuki couldn’t help them, they needed someone who _could_ , and as much as Yoru doubted himself, he knew he could at least make a small difference.

He could steal the ball back from Desarm. He knew he could.

Motion in the stands caught Yoru’s eyes, fear shooting up his spine for a moment as he whirled around to see who it was. Activating his ability, his eyes widened slightly as panic drained away, replaced with confused hope when he spotted Gouenji and Hijitaka heading down the steps and leaving the field.

 _‘_ Whatever you’re doing,’ He thought, ‘It better lead to you being able to help.’

Yoru bit his lip as he turned back to the field, holding back the urge to deman Hitomiko put him into the match. He quickly deactivated his ability but it didn’t stop his head from pounding hard enough it brought tears to his eyes; he pressed the heel of his hand to his temple, but it did little to quell the throbbing.

Desarm once again shot Gungnir, the action making Aki throw her hands up to her mouth in fear as it rocketed towards an unprotected and barely standing Endou.

Yoru tensed, fearing that Endou wouldn’t be able to survive the next hit. Instead he was nearly blinded by a sudden powerful flash of golden yellow coming from Endou, leaving the ex-striker blinking spots from his eyes as a blurry shape of Fist of Justice sent the ball flying in the opposite direction of the goal.

Relief filled Yoru’s chest, causing his shoulders to slump ever so slightly while his death grip on the bench was finally let up. His fingers ached, tingling from having gone numb. “Oh, thank god,” Yoru breathed out a sigh of relief as the girls exclaimed Endou’s named, closing his eyes for a moment and finding some twisted relief in how they burned.

He supposed there must have been some sort of difference between the two Fists of Justice that Yoru’s currently terrible eyesight couldn’t see, the move having evolved at Endou’s realization and determination. It would explain the sudden wave of emotion powerful enough Yoru could see the change manifest without his ability, and for once he was glad Epsilon was poisoned the way it was—had Yoru’s ability been activate, he might’ve really gone blind.

A sudden hush fell over the field, making Yoru open his eyes again.

Immediately he spotted Gouenji walking onto the field; excitement filled Yoru’s chest, causing him to grin.

Coming to a stop, Gouenji removed the hood he’d constantly been wearing, causing all of Raimon’s original players to let out surprised gasps.

“Gouenji!” Endou shouted, excited.

“Sorry I kept you waiting.” Gouenji said calmly. It took all Yoru had not to suddenly jump up and start cheering; with Gouenji back on the team, they were sure to beat Epsilon once and for all.

Beside him, Fubuki raised his head, eyes wide. Yoru smiled at him, bumping his shoulder with his.

“Switch players!” Coach Hitomiko shouted, “Number 10, Gouenji Shuuya, is entering!”

The entire crowd went wild at the announcement, Gouenji’s prescene nearly overwhelming on the field as he pulled on Raimon’s jersey. Yoru was amazed the intensity of it didn’t leak into some physical manifestation, or even just a permanent dull glow around his edges.

Immediately the flow of the game changed, Gouenji stealing the ball from Desarm with stunning ease as he quickly turned it into one of his own hissatsu shoots.

Yoru grinned as Gouenji’s shoot blazed Zel’s Worm Hole into ashes, a terrifying fire ball as it slammed Zel into the back of the goal net.

Finally, Raimon had scored a point.

Part of Yoru was ecstatic, knowing that they could finally get the upper hand in a battle where all had seemed lost, but another part of him burned away at the excitement, replacing it with an ugly mix of jealousy and hurt. Jealous that Gouenji could play while he couldn’t. Hurt because Fubuki had tried so, so hard to do the very same thing Gouenji had done so flawlessly.

Desarm returned to Goalkeeper, that same gross desire to break Gouenji apart like he had Fubuki making Yoru’s stomach roil.

It barely deterred the players on the field though, Gouenji’s return fueling them all and completely changing the flow of the game. Ichinose stole the ball, passing it to Kidou who then passed it to Gouenji.

Yoru let out an impressed whistle as Gouenji made another goal with a new shoot, the flames coating around the ball like the sun as it forced its way through Desarm’s Drill Smasher in a flash that could put a supernova to shame.

The final whistle blew, signifying the end of the match. Yoru couldn’t stop himself from letting out a short “Woo!” as a cheer, relief causing him to laugh a moment later. Beside him, Fubuki remained motionless, having barely moved at all since Gouenji’s appearance.

Yoru’s expression softened, smiled gently as he looked at Fubuki. He bumped shoulders with him again, lightly leaning against him as he let out a slightly over-the-top sigh of relief.

“Fubuki,” He began softly, making sure no one else could hear it, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; both of you are wanted, both of you are needed, and both of you deserve to be here. I’ll support you, Shirou, no matter what you choose to do. If you want to be Atsuya, or Shiro, you can. But you know what I think?” Yoru leaned forward a little, making sure Fubuki could see him.

 “There’s never been someone quite like Fubuki Shirou.”


	26. Chapter 25: Fallen Star Rises

The calm that had settled over the field was quickly disrupted by a blinding flash of blue, everyone’s gaze snapping to the source. A young boy with snow white hair, dressed in blue stood at the center of the fading glow, arms crossed over his chest.

Yoru grit his teeth, watching the smoke at the boy’s feet fade away as the toxic purple glow of Aliea replaced the blue flash.

“Master Gazel!” Desarm shakily announced, surprised and afraid of the new arrival.

“I’m Gazel, the one in charge of the master rank team, Diamond Dust.” Gazel announced, voice soft and yet powerful enough to be heard over the length of the field.

Slowly, the boy raised his head, and Yoru felt frozen to his spot. Even though he was no more than a blur to Yoru at the moment, the chill of the boy’s gaze froze Yoru to the core even though it wasn’t even directed at him.

“So you’re Endou?” Gazel asked, not even waiting for an answer as he continued, “I’ve found my new practice opponent. With this loss, Epsilon has become completely useless.”

Gazel raised his hand, the motion causing Desarm to tense before walking away from being next to Endou.

With a swish of his hand and a point at Epsilon, the glowing orb that Aliea used to move around flew towards the defeated team, causing another bright flash as it sent them away.

Yoru winced, glaring at nothing as Gazel’s voice echoed over the field.

“Endou Mamoru, I look forward to the day when I can fight you.”

\-----

After a few moments of stunned silence, the crowds in the stands began to make their way out, murmurs spreading through the crowd from this new development. Yoru frowned at the ground for a moment before rocking up onto his feet with a sigh.

Raimon really couldn’t get a break, could they?

Unable to stop himself, Yoru turned to look out at the figures leaving the bleachers behind him, eyes locking onto Watanabe. Unease pulled at his lungs, trying to drag him under like it had on the other island.  He could feel his hands shaking, pain lancing up his bad leg. As if noticing he was being watched, Watanabe stopped at the base of the bleachers, turning to look at Yoru in return.

A beat passed.

Watanabe turned away, walking out of the school with a small skip in his step.

Yoru slowly let out the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, closing his eyes as well. Okay. That had gone better than expected, thankfully.

Without the ever-present feeling of eyes on his back, Yoru felt all sorts of tension bleed from his body, replaced with a giddy inkling of pride.

An encounter, however small, with Watanabe had gone almost painlessly.

Yoru tucked that knowledge into the back of his mind for later, turning his attention back to Raimon as they welcomed Gouenji back.

“Coach,” Gouenji said, turning to face Coach Hitomiko after ‘Welcome back!’ was shouted by various members of the team.

Hitomiko nodded her head every so slightly, giving him her own welcome back.

Yoru tilted his head to the side curiously as Gouenji bowed low, blinking in surprise a moment later as the boy announces, “Thank you for taking me off the team!”

As Gouenji and some detective explained why Gouenji had been forced to leave the team, Yoru took the chance to look at the returning striker’s glow.

Sharpening his sight, Yoru let out a quiet hum. Like he expected, Gouenji’s glow was as flame-like as it could get. A mixture of red, orange, and gold, Gouenji’s glow was a raging fire only slowed by the tickles of grey and black that crept along the edges. All that was really missing from the flames of Gouenji’s glow was a yellow mixing in there somewhere, but Yoru supposed it was for the best. Add any more fire-like qualities and Gouenji might blind anyone who looked at him.

“But if you had just said something…”

“He couldn’t.” The detective said, the finality of his tone bringing Yoru back from his analyzing. “They kept him from speaking.

Yoru blinked, cancelling his ability, and felt his heart stutter at the blurry vision that greeted him. He knew that his sight wouldn’t just magically be better after using his ability when his sight was blurry, but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling disappointment, either.

“If he told you, his sister would pay the consequences. That’s why we decided to wait for our chance.” The detective pointed behind himself, towards Hijikata. “Until the right time came, I put Gouenji under his care.”

“Hijikata?” Endou asked, voice serious even with the small dash of concern that joined it.

Hijikata put his hands behind his head and grinned, “The old detective’s a horrible guy, you know? Said the only way to hide someone is within a crowd.”

Even with his sight as bad as it was, Yoru was almost certain Hijkata locked gazes with him as he said that with a faintly teasing tone, the action nearly making him blush. “Although, it didn’t matter one way or another if my family had an extra member or two.”

The detective continued to explain what had happened, leaving Yoru only able to imagine what that could have been like, not knowing if your sibling was alright or not. If Hyouga were kidnapped, Yoru would turn the world upside down to find and save him.

Endou ran forward, bowing and thanking the detective.

Bashfully, the detective scratched at the side of his face, saying that the one Endou should be thanking was Hijikata.

Yoru chuckled as Hijikata quickly turned around, cheeks bright red from embarrassment as he exclaimed that it wasn’t a big deal.

Gouenji’s soft, confident voice filled the air soon after, “No, if it wasn’t for you…”

Yoru let out a soft gasp as Gouenji told his story, the tone slipping into something similar to Fubuki’s for just a moment. It sent Yoru’s thoughts screeching to a halt as hopeful realization set in.

Maybe….

Maybe he knew what would help Shirou.

“Because I had you, I was even able to perfect Bakunetsu storm. Thank you, Hijikata.” Gouenji finished, earning a shy huff from Hijikata.

Seeing her chance as silence fell over the field, Aki looked from Hijikata to Gouenji. “Gouenji.”

Gouenji turned to her, surprised.

Aki crossed her arms behind her back, smiling brightly at Gouenji as she continued. “What do you think of the old-new Raimon?”

The group waited with bated breath for Gouenji to give his appraisal, everyone grinning brightly as he exclaimed, “You’re the best!”

With everything settled and any tense air over the group dispersing, Raimon decided the best way to celebrate Gouenji’s return was to have a soccer match.

Yoru chuckled as he watched the team casually play a game as if nothing as serious as Gazel’s appearance had happened just minutes before, only slightly jealous they were able to move on from things like that so quickly.

He glanced across the field to where Fubuki leaned against one of the metal fences wrapping around the pitch. Fubuki hadn’t wanted to play soccer with the others, which was… fine, but it left a bitter taste in Yoru’s mouth to see.

He felt far more distant than he had before the match.

“Yukimura.”

The call of his name dragged Yoru’s attention away from where Gouenji was following a stray ball to Fubuki, placing it instead on Hitomiko. “Yes, Coach?”

“How are your eyes?” Hitomiko asked.

At the mention of his eyes, Yoru consciously blinked like it would help clear up the annoying blurs and bright spots.

“Still bad. Gazel was a bit….” Yoru trailed off, waving a hand in circles in the air as he tried to find the right word. “…Flashy.” He ended dully, shrugging a moment later at the crease in Hitomiko’s eyebrows.

“I should take you to Dr. Haruno while the others are distracted.” She rationed. Yoru shrugged again, not really minding when they went. Although he wanted to stay, to keep an eye on Fubuki, he did agree that the less the others suspected something the better, and that _did_ mean some sneaking around. Not to mention, at least one doctor would probably want to see his eyes in as worse condition as possible after a match.

“Then let’s go.”

\----

Thankfully Yoru and Hitomiko weren’t gone for too long. They got back to the school around the same time Hijikata arrived baring gifts.

Yoru’s eyes lit up at the sight of the bottles Hijikata held, excitement coursing through the exhaustion of having to deal with a bunch of medical tests for the hundredth time. “Is that Shekwasha?” He asked hopefully, earning a hearty chuckle from Hijikata.

“Yep! I take it you like it?”

“Are you kidding?” Yoru laughed, “My parents practically gave me this stuff after every match we’d win! It was like a reward for having fun!” He exclaimed, grinning. “Natsume, my brother, hated it though. Always complained it was too sour.”

Hijikata laughed, nodding in agreement. “It’s pretty strong, for sure.”

Splitting away from Hitomiko, Yoru and Hijikata grabbed the rest of Raimon’s managers to get the drinks ready for the end of practice.

Of course, the reactions to the drink were about as expected, at least to Yoru. Everyone was stunned by how sour the drink was—even Tsunami, though he tried to play it off.  

“It’s like the bittersweet taste of first love! Just like us!” Rika exclaimed, looping her arm around Ichinose’s and pulling him close. Yoru hid his smile behind his cup as he took in Ichinose’s exasperated expression, wondering if the American would ever get a chance for peace again.

Tsunami raised an eyebrow as he looked at his cup in distaste, “If it’s this sour, then I’ll never fall in love.”

“So you _do_ think it’s sour!” Touko exclaimed, grinning slyly and earning a laugh from the rest of the team.

Yoru chuckled as well, eyes straying from the group in search of familiar gray hair. He wondered if Fubuki was feeling any better after practice.

Spotting Fubuki, Yoru quickly strode over to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “Hey. How you feeling?”

“Been better.” Fubuki mumbled, glancing at Yoru. “Where’d you disappear off to with Coach? Gouenji said he wanted to see some of your shoots.”

Yoru tensed, inwardly cringing from the fact their disappearance had been noticed. He looked away from Fubuki, glancing up at the painted sky as he tried to think of a lie. “Ah, that? We just went to get some supplies. Thought it’d be better to go while you were training, and I went with because I know this place like the back of my hand.”

Fubuki hummed, tone disbelieving. “If you say so.” He hummed, looking up at the sky as well. They were quiet for a while and eventually Yoru let his arm slip from its place across Fubuki’s shoulders.

“So what do you think of him: Gouenji?” Yoru asked, curious to know what Hakuren’s Snow Prince thought of the Flame Striker he had been replacing.

Fubuki shrugged, looking down and kicking at the turf. “He’s… something.” Fubuki explained slowly, eyebrows furrowed in thought. “A good something. Like you are.”

Yoru blinked in surprise, a stunned sound leaving his lips. “L-Like me?” He asked, dreading how heat rushed to his cheeks.

Fubuki nodded but didn’t elaborate any further.

Yoru wasn’t sure if he was upset or glad that he stopped.

\---

_Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!_

Yoru groggily blinked open his eyes, the soft buzzing of his phone steadily waking him up. He shoved his bangs from his face as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, pulling his phone out from where he placed it under his pillow. He flipped it open, closing his eyes and holding in a hiss as the light blinded him for a moment.

When he was sure the light of his phone wasn’t about to blind him, Yoru slowly opened his eyes to see just what caused his phone to start vibrating at who-knows-when.

His heart stopped when he saw the number on the screen, eyes widening as he stared at the message.

_Hey, Yuki~! Come play with me~!_

_-W.K._

Yoru quickly snapped his phone shut, squeezing his eyes closed as well. Conflicting emotions swirled in his chest, warring with eachother and causing his fingers to twitch.

He could just ignore it. He _should_ ignore it. Nothing good could come from this, right?

Movement from the bed next to him had Yoru snapping his eyes open, glancing over to see if Fubuki was alright.

Silver hair spanned over the pillow, Fubuki’s back turned to Yoru.

The war stopped.

Slowly, Yoru pushed himself to his hands and knees, blinking down at the sheets tiredly. His eyesight was still a bit blurry, but it was already far better than it’d been earlier that evening.

As quietly as he could, he grabbed his jacket and slipped on his shoes before slipping out of the room.

He knew where to go.

Okinawa’s buildings had never been comforting to Yoru at night, but now, as he crossed through the abandoned streets, they seemed to mock him. Whispering that he was an idiot, that the same fate would befell him again. That the night would never be safe even if the moon was there to guard him.

The moon was only a witness. It did nothing to help.

As Yoru crept closer to the familiar stairwell, nausea rolled from his stomach to his throat, choking him and begging him to turn around. Yoru pushed forward. He knew what he had to do; he couldn’t keep running.

Yoru came to a stop at the top of a long, fat stairwell made of cement, the steps nearly as steep as their drop. His stomach flipped.

Where the steps had once been a bleached white was now an ugly, rusted red splattering about a third of the way down, going until there were only a few steps left at the bottom. As much as he wished it was a faded memory, Yoru could clearly, vividly, remember how they practically flowed with dark fluid, everything taited red through Yoru’s matted eyelashes and hair, the  pain pulsing through his head.

He remembered how each drip matched the steady, dull thud of calm footsteps slowly creeping down the stairs. The blinding white that filled his vision as fire raced up his leg, burning him from the inside out until his throat was raw.

Worst of all, he didn’t have to remember the cause, because he was staring right at it.

Watanabe stood on the step with the largest amount of stain, a similarly twisted grin on his face as he gave Yoru a wave.

Yoru felt panic starting to crawl up his skin as he looked at Watanabe, felt the itch to turn around, run as far away as he could lest Watanabe raced to switch their positions, but he refused to let himself do so.

He’d seen what fear could do to someone, how it could warp their reality and crush any chance of getting better unless they confronted it the best they could. Yoru _had_ to face Watanabe. He couldn't let himself continue to fall into a panic each time he faced the other soccer player.

He had to move forward, had to get better _somehow_ , if only to prove to himself that he could do it. That he wasn’t worse than he was before.

_A shattered glow surrounded by darkness; afraid, lonely._

Yoru grit his teeth.

Fubuki needed him now more than ever, and that meant it was time to face his attacker.

“What do you want, Watanabe?” Yoru asked, breaking the silence. Watanabe’s grin only widened when he caught the waver in Yoru’s voice.

“Oh nothing~ Just heard it was your last night here in Okinawa and wanted to see you.” Watanabe sang, shrugging. “Saw your game earlier, too.” The grin grew ever wider, showing off Watanabe’s fangs. “Really now, what was the point of you being there, dressed in the clothes of the players? You did _nothing_.”

Yoru curled his hands into fists at his side, glaring at Watanabe. “And I bet you had a _blast_ seeing it.”

Watanabe barked out a laugh, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, _definitely_.” He hummed, “Would you have even been helpful out there? What could you do, as weak as you are?”

Yoru growled, trying to ignore the way the jab coiled around his heart like a snake. “At least I don’t try to _kill_ my old teammates!” He snapped. Watanabe’s smile disappeared, replaced by a glare that had his eye twitching.

Yoru felt his heart stop, any bite he had left draining out of him.

“There you go again,” Watanabe hissed, any and all playfulness disappearing. “Always acting like you’re better than me. Always being the _golden boy_.”

Yoru gulped, fear starting to take hold as Watanabe began to ascend the steps. He mentally shook it away, determined not to let Watanabe get to him.

“You’re _nothing_ compared to me now. All you are is a broken, useless rock to every team you join.”

As if on autopilot, Yoru took a step back as Watanabe reached the top of the steps, legs shaking. Watanabe grinned again, all sharp teeth and eyes gleaming with pride. Yoru mentally winced.

“Do you need another lesson, Yuki?” Watanabe cooed, voice sickeningly sweet as he came close to Yoru. When Yoru didn’t answer, Watanabe let out a dark chuckle, eyes bright with sick glee. “Maybe the message never got across last time, acting like you’re high above everyone else. You think you could score against those crazy aliens? You’d collapse on the field two seconds in.”

Yoru’s mouth was dry, heart lodged in his throat and legs itching to run as he forced himself to stand still even as Watanabe towered over him.

“Remember how you screamed?" A chuckle, falling into a happy sigh, "Oh, that look on your face as I snapped your leg even further was the _best_.”

Yoru’s stomach rolled with disgust as Watanabe spoke with pleasure dripping from his voice.

“But nothing— _nothing_ —beat the expression you wore when it was deemed an accident. An ‘unfortunate tumble down some steps in the dark paired with too much strain on the ankles from soccer’. How you were given up on within the week.”

Yoru stayed as still as possible, focusing all his willpower into not giving Watanabe the satisfaction of seeing how much the words terrified Yoru. Watanabe’s eyes flashed, glee changing to anger.

“SAY SOMETHING!” He snapped, grabbing Yoru’s shirt and lifting him in the air. “Why won’t you _break?!_ ”

Watanabe’s shout echoed through the air as his shoulders heaved from the shout, eyes a glowing, bloody red.

Yoru just stared, managing to keep his eyes from widening too much. Watanabe’s bloodlust and anger manifested themselves so similarly to Atsuya it nearly sent Yoru reeling from surprise. At least Atsuya was good; a stray cat unused to love more than anything.

Watanabe was a raging bull.

Angry that he didn’t get a response, Watanabe let go of Yoru’s shirt. The sudden drop caused Yoru to gasp, his bad leg buckling under him as the sharp land onto concrete sent his bones rattling and made the bottom of his feet hurt.

“Look at you,” Watanabe spat, angry. “You can’t even stand on your own two feet after landing from a height of a measley few centimeters.” His chest heaved, hands clenched into fists at his sides. “So why the _hell_ are _YOU_ the one everyone keeps choosing?!”

“Yukimura?”

The call of Yoru’s name had both boys freezing in place. Yoru whipped his head around, dread filling his stomach as he looked for the owner of the voice. Why was Fubuki up? Why was he even out here this late?

“Tch,” Watanabe clicked his tongue, glaring in the direction of Fubuki’s voice. Yoru grunted as his stomach was suddenly kicked, curling in on himself as he glared at Watanabe.

“Ow! What the hell?!”

Watanabe didn’t respond, already striding back down the steps. Yoru growled, rubbing where Watanabe had kicked before shakily getting to his feet. He waited until Watanabe disappeared from his sight to finally let out a shaky breath, nearly collapsing back to the ground from how all the strength he had left him.

That was _not_ something he ever wanted to do again.

“Ah! There you are!”

Yoru jumped as Fubuki’s voice was suddenly right behind him, whirling around to face his friend in the same motion. “Fubuki!” He yelped, eyes wide. “What are you doing here?!”

“I woke up and you were gone.” Fubuki explained with a frown. “I got worried.”

Yoru felt any unease he had drain away as Fubuki started talking about how he had checked all sorts of places before deciding to check town, a small smile slipping onto his face.

This felt... nice.

Fubuki paused in his story, raising an eyebrow at Yoru. “What’s with the smile? I was worried, you jerk! That’s the second time you disappeared without saying anything today!”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Yoru said with a small laugh, “I guess… I’m just happy.”

“Happy?!”

“Yeah,” Yoru agreed, looking at Fubuki gently. “Happy.” He grinned, chuckling as Fubuki lightly punched his arm and gave him an adorable pout. “You feel a bit more like yourself now.”

Fubuki froze, a small sound of surprise leaving his lips as he stared at Yoru. Yoru winked at him, looking away as he brushed off his pants before starting to walk in the direction he’d come from.

“Come on, lets get back to the caravan—I’d rather not have anyone else wandering through town this late.”

“Why were you ever out here?” Fubuki asked, quickly catching up to Yoru. “This is a pretty big walk to make at ungodly hours of the morning.”

Yoru laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled at Fubuki. “I was just… finishing up something, I guess.”

 _Although it didn’t quite go well_ , He thought to himself, glancing off to the side.

Fubuki let out a short hum, studying Yoru for a moment before shrugging. “Well, as long as you’re okay.”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Yoru assurded, gnawing on his lip as he debated asking a question that had been plaguing his mind all day. After a beat of silence, Yoru looked back at Fubuki.

“…Will you?”

\------

The next morning, Yoru’s bad leg and the dark bruise forming on his stomach were more than happy to say they did not appreciate his late-night outing. Still, it didn’t stop him from giving Coach Shimizu and his Oumihara friends tight hugs as they cried over Yoru’s departure with the rest of the team.

“You _have_ to come visit again!” Kian cried, looking up at Yoru with tear-filled eyes. “We barely got a change to hang out!”

“I’ll be sure to come back,” Yoru promised, smiling at her as he patted her head. “Now come on, don’t start the waterworks. I’ll be sure to keep in contact with you guys this time.”

“You better!” Otomura exclaimed, clapping Yoru on the back as he grinned. “If not, then we’ll just have to go to Hokkaido and talk to you ourselves!”

“YEAH!” The others cheered in agreement, making Yoru laugh. The laugh turned into a wheeze as they gave him a final group hug, and Yoru couldn’t deny that he was happy even through the tearful goodbye.

He was going to miss them.


	27. Chapter 26: Freezing Dark

Yoru sighed, locking his fingers behind his back and stretching as the team got out of the caravan.  Deciding that the team would be taking a much-needed breather, Hitomiko sent the caravan back to Tokyo. Currently, the team was eagerly climbing out of the caravan and stretching their limbs at the practice field near Raimon.

Endou took a deep breath, letting it out in a happy grunt before shouting, “We’re back!” at the top of his lungs.

Yoru chuckled, shaking his head good-naturedly as he placed a hand on his hip.

“All right, let’s all go home for today!”

“Home, huh?”

“We’ve been away for a long time.”

“Our parents must be pretty worried.”

“It’s important to refresh ourselves at our own homes.” Natsumi agreed.

Yoru bit his lip thoughtfully, wondering if that meant they knew what to do about him and the others that weren’t from Tokyo.

“That’s alright with you, right Coach?” Endou asked, prompting everyone to turn and look at Coach Hitomiko.

Coach Hitomiko sighed, closing her eyes as she answered, “Very well. We’ll rest ourselves for one day.”

Yoru hummed thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow at the Coach. A day didn’t feel like it was nearly enough rest for the team, after the non-stop training they’d been doing for what must have been at least a couple months at this point; he knew that they couldn’t afford more than a day, but it still seemed short.

The rest of the team, though, was incredibly happy for the break.

Tsunami quickly brought up a very good point, cutting off the cheers of the others, “Hey, what about us?” He asked, pointing to himself and motioning towards Yoru and the others.

Endou grinned, placing his hands on his hips confidently. “You can all come to my place!”

“All of us?” Yoru asked curiously, a grateful, small laugh in his voice. “Will your parents be--”

Something in the air caught Yoru’s eye, his words falling flat on his lips as he turned his attention to the object. Fubuki let out a small gasp beside him, also noticing the object.

A soccer ball.

The ball stopped its path through the air, the white spots on the ball turning an icy blue as it whirred to life before slamming down into the ground.

Yoru winced, bringing a hand up to block his eyes from the blinding light.

As the light disappeared, a hiss and smoke filled the air from the crater it formed in the ground, causing everyone’s attention to turn to it.

“Gentlemen of Raimon Eleven,” Gazel’s voice began, the chill of his words cut only by the static of recording, “We of Diamond Dust will be waiting at the Football Frontier stadium. If you don’t come, Tokyo will be smashed indiscriminately with black soccer balls.”

“What?”

“Indiscriminately?”

“What does indiscriminately mean?”

“It means at random!” Megane cried, “If that happens, it’ll destroy Tokyo!”

Kabeyama let out a shout of horror, shaking his head. “That’s bad!”

Yoru silently nodded in agreement, biting his lip again and crossing his arms over his chest. This wasn’t good.

Thankfully Coach had the same mindset. “We’ll head to the stadium at once!”

The entire ride to the stadium, Yoru’s nerves only heightened. They were barely strong enough to beat Epsilon Remastered, there was no way they’d be able to handle a master ranked team at their current level.

Yoru grit his teeth; if only that _stupid_ glow wasn’t there. He’d actually be _helpful_ to the others instead of just an unnecessary manager who can’t even help his best friend from hurting.

He bit the tip of his tongue, gripping the bus seat a little tighter. He had to stop being useless to the team. He had to help them this match, no excuses.

Hitomiko and Dr. Agehira weren’t going to like it, but Yoru had to use his ability.

“Yukimura,” Fubuki whispered, knocking his shoulder against Yoru’s and effectively snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked over to Fubuki, who was giving him the same concerned look he had after his encounters with Watanabe. “You okay?”

Yoru felt his heart die a little inside at the question, making the small smile he’d given his friend to show he was listening fade away.

Fubuki shouldn’t have to worry about Yoru, not when he was hurting far more than him.

Quickly, Yoru plastered the smile back on his face, nodding as he quietly replied, “Yeah,” with a shaky laugh. “I’m good. Just thinking.”

“You’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.” Fubuki commented, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle myself, Fubuki.” Yoru assured, smiling a little more and bumping their shoulders together. “Thank you for the concern, though. Really.”

Fubuki frowned.

Yoru internally winced, knowing Fubuki could see right through the act. His shoulders slumped as he sighed, letting his head fall back against the seat while guilt curled itself into a neat little ball in the pit of his stomach.

“I’ll tell you later, alright?”

“Promise?”

“…. Promise.”

\----

The stadium was shockingly empty when they got there, not a single soul in sight. Yoru made eye contact with Hitomiko, searching for any sign he should tell Dr. Agehira about the situation.

Coach Hitomiko brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, subtly shaking her head.

Alright then.

Yoru looked around the field, wondering when Diamond Dust was going to arrive as he listned to Hitomiko.

“We have no idea what the other team is like. There’s no telling what sort of attacks they’ll have, either.” Coach Hitomiko looked over to Gouenji, hands on her hips. “Gouenji! It’s sudden, but I want you to be our forward without delay.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Gouenji will undoubtedly be marked. It’s important to give him the ball, but if there’s an opportunity, aim for the goal yourself.”

“Yes, ma’am!” The team exclaimed,

“Yukimura,” Yoru’s eyes widened as his name was said; he looked over to Hitomiko, confused. “I want you to track every single movement these guys make if you’re able to. We can’t afford to lose.”

Yoru stared at her with wide eyes, stunned she’d actually want to go through with him using his ability after so long of forbidding him from doing so.

He straightened his stance, “Yes, ma’am!”

A rueful smile crept its way onto his lips, chest tight as he thought of what that meant.

Coach Hitomiko had come to the same conclusion he did: they needed an edge.

A blinding flash filled the stadium, causing everyone to cover their eyes as Diamond Dust made their grand appearance.

As the light faded away, Yoru looked through the purple haze to see if he could see the players themselves. Instead he was met with sillouettes of the team, confident in their strength even though it was a bought power instead of rightfully earned. Shadows of the kids who became full of themselves instead of focusing on fun.

Kids like Watanabe, but who had yet to turn into the monster he turned out to be.

Gazel let out a small huff that borded on a chuckle, an air of egotism around him nearly ten times heavier than the others. He was their leader; every beck and call he made, they would follow.

Kabeyama and Megane clutched each other, any bravado they’d shared moments earlier disappearing at the arrival of the “aliens”.

“We are Aliea Academy’s master rank team, Diamond Dust.”

“Master rank?” Endou questioned under his breath, tense and waiting for them to do something.

Gazel stepped forward, reaching towards Endou as he addressed him. “Endou. I’ll show you how cold the freezing darkness can be.”

Yoru frowned, nose crinkling in disgust from Gazel’s words. He wasn’t quite sure, but didn’t Gazel also say something similar back in Okinawa?

It made something odd and uncomfortable settle in Yoru’s chest. Gazel…

Almost felt familiar.

“I don’t care if it’s hot or cold!” Endou snapped, “I’ll never allow people like you to destroy our homes and school with soccer!”

With their pieces said, the teams began to stretch and prepare for the match. Yoru settled himself next to Fubuki on the bench, resting his elbows on his knees and holding his face in his hands as he looked out over the pitch.

He tried to piece together what it was that made Gazel feel so familiar: it wasn’t that he was familiar as a person, but there was something… something about the way he spoke. The way he moved and carried himself.

Without even really thinking about it, as the players gathered on the field Yoru activated his ability, and he held back a wince as the sea of purple only enhanced around the field.

His jaw dropped as the sea parted and fell away, turning into fog at their feet. The pain signifying its strength was still there, but the toxic purple gave way to the players and their own glows while the toxins danced as their feet. “What the…?”

“Hm?”

The girls’ curious hums pulled Yoru away from the sight, his mind running a mile a minute as he tried to wrap around what this meant. “Yukimura? What is it?”

“The toxic glow… it’s not as bad as Epsilon Remastered’s.” He explained, looking at Coach Hitomiko as he spoke. “With Epsilon Remastered and Genesis, if I so much as tried to watch them, I couldn’t see anything. They were completely buried in the haze, and nearly took out Raimon’s glows along with them. But Diamond Dust…” Yoru trailed off, eybrows furrowed.

“It’s like it’s not sticking to them. While on the surface it’s strong enough to manifest outside of my ability, when I started using it, the toxicness just….” He looked back out over the field, taking in the team and how the glow seemed to leak away from Diamond Dust’s players to fall into a fog at their feet.

“Collapsed.” Yoru finished, looking back at Raimon’s managers and coach. “If they’re stronger than Epsilon, the same level as Genesis, even…. Why isn’t it acting the same way?”

Hitomiko’s eye brows furrowed as she bit at her nail, turning away and looking out over the teams as they started the kickoff. Her own glow twisted and flared, the periwinkle and black flashing red for a moment.

Yoru quickly turned his attention back to the field, but a nagging feeling settled at the back of his mind.

Something about Coach Hitomiko seemed off. Like she knew something they didn’t.

Yoru’s eyes widened as Diamond Dust moved to leave a clear path to the goal, as if inviting Raimon to shoot a goal.

Gouenji gritted his teeth, his glow flaring as he kicked the ball with all his might.

Even Yoru was shocked when the goalie caught the ball.

‘He waited until the last second to move, and still caught it without the use of a hissatsu technique?’ Yoru recounted, biting the inside of his cheek as he watched the goalie throw the ball back into play.

Except the ball zoomed right past the players, right to where Endou cought it and was even pushed back from the lingering force.

Yoru’s stomach flipped, worry creeping in. If the goalie was that strong, he could only imagine what the rest of the players were like.

As if reading his thoughts, Diamond Dust made their move when Endou moved to throw the ball back.

In mere seconds Diamond Dust had moved into Raimon’s side of the field as if they were skating on ice, slipping through Raimon’s players with ease.

Endou tossed the ball to Domon, who passed it to Ichinose. With the same amount of grace as when they moved into Raimon’s side of the field, the girl with a mask covering her face flipped over Ichinose’s shoulder and stole the ball before passing to Gazel.

‘It’s like they’re dancing…’ Yoru thought, entranced. His eyes fell to watch the feet of the players even though that was where the bad glow had settled, able to follow Diamond Dust’s speed easily through the way they moved. His eyes widened as one of the defenders moved forward, sliding into a tackle that carved a path of jagged ice into the earth. Rika, completely unable to dodge the attack, cried out in pain as her leg was hit by the hissatsu and defender’s foot before collapsing to the ground.

“That’s the coldness of the freezing dark.” Gazel said smugly, looking all too please as his teammate passed the ball to him.

 Yoru growled, grabbing the edge of the bench and digging his fingers into it. Everything that came out of Gazel’s mouth struck an uneasy chord in Yoru, making him wish he was out there on the field as if to prove a point that darkness didn’t have to—

His eyes widened.

That was it. _That_ was why Gazel felt familiar.

Gazel was an icy prince, much like Fubuki. The grace, the speed, the _confidence_. All of it was there.

Yet there was still a difference, clear as day. Gazel was like how Fubuki _could have been_.

Gazel was a winter warlock, dangerous and frozen, trapped in the darkness of his own suffering and believing that he was as cold as the frozen lake they danced on.

If Fubuki hadn’t had his friends there beside him, if he hadn’t had Atsuya there to warm his heart in a shaky truce, Fubuki could have easily been swallowed up by the same darkness.

And as much as Yoru hated to admit it, he could have, too.

The whistle blew as Kabeyama and Touko managed to slow the ball down and keep it from the goal, the ball flying off into the stands. Yoru frowned when he noticed someone coming out of the entry way with the ball in their hands before kicking it back into the pitch.

The person seemed to fly over to the pitch, slowly easing their way down onto the field. Their glow was like the riches of the world: silvers, golds, and whites with dashes of turquoise and purple mixing through the flames.

Beside him, the girls and Megane let out terrified and worried gasps as Endou made his way to the newcomer dressed like a god.

“…Who’s that?” Yoru asked, looking over to see that even Fubuki seemed stunned. Was it that surprising someone new came into play, or was Yoru missing some sort of crucial piece of information?

“That’s Aphrodi,” Aki explained, not looking away from the scene playing out in front of them. “He and his team, Zeus, fought against Raimon in Football Frontier and were being used by Kageyama just like Teikoku was.”

“Ah.” Yoru looked back at the field, tilting his head curiously. If this Aphrodi had been used by that odd man doused in black, then why did everyone seem so wary of him?

He could feel a headache coming on as he watched Endou talk to Aphrodi while Ichinose helped Rika to her feet, the toxic glow reminding Yoru of its presence as his vision went in and out of focus for a moment.

Yoru bit his lip as they switched Rika out for Aphrodi, giving him a spare jersey and shorts while Yoru moved out of the way so Megane could move over and give Rika the seat on the bench.

Would Aphrodi be able to help them when so many seemed to be against him?

“Is it really okay to leave it to him?” Rika asked grumpily while Aki bandaged her ankle. Yoru sighed softly in response to her attitude.

“Well, what you rather have happen? Megane wouldn’t be able to help, I’m struggling enough to see their quirks as it is, Fubuki’s not able to play right now, and you’ve just hurt your leg. Even if he _was_ still bad, we wouldn’t have a choice.” He explained, earning a stiff nod from Coach Hitomiko.

“It’s worth trying.”

“I agree with the coach.” Natsumi agreed softly, eyes glued to the field, “He can help compensate for our lack of finishing power.”

As much as Yoru knew it was the truth, the fact that Natsumi seemed to forget he had at least some sort of advantage on the field stung a little. He moved closer to the field, sitting down and turning his attention back to Diamond Dust’s players.

“It’s going to be alright,” Aki assured, “Endou’s already acknowledged him.”

As the match started back up, Yoru winced as Raimon’s teamwork fell apart. They didn’t trust Aphrodi, and it caused all their passes to fail.

Yoru grit his teeth, wishing, _knowing_ that he and Fubuki should be out there. Avalanche would get them a point. Eternal Blizzard probably would, too.

Instead they were stuck on the sidelines, forced to watch as their team struggled.

Tsunami ran towards Gazel, trying to steal the ball from Diamond Dust’s captain as they both jumped into the air. Yoru grit his teeth as Gazel hit the ball with his head in a feint, quickly breaking through defenses and speeding towards the goal.

Endou protected the goal, meeting Gazel’s eyes with a level gaze. Across the field, Aphrodi and Gouenji met each other’s eyes, silently communicating.

Diamond Dust quickly took control of the ball again, but Kogure stopped the ball from making it near the goal. Seeing that Gazel was coming for the ball, Kogure panicked, kicking the ball too far for Tsunami to connect with easily.

Tsunami was quickly swarmed by two of Diamond Dust’s players as he got to the ball, trapping him from moving forward.

Seeing his chance, Tsunami passed the ball to Aphrodi, and to Raimon’s surprise, the pass was perfect.

Aphrodi didn’t waste a second, moving towards Diamond Dust’s goal the second the ball hit the ground. Diamond Dust’s defenders moved in to protect the goal and Yoru watched as Aphrodi smirked, pausing his movements to lift a hand to the air and snap.

The field was shrouded in black and white, all the players except Aphrodi freezing in place. Aphrodi casually walked through them, only pausing to snap his fingers once more and unfreeze time. Diamond Dust’s defenders looked over their shoulders at him, confused, before getting blown away by the whirlwind that formed where Aphrodi had once been standing.

Gazel got in Aphrodi’s way, smirking. “You’ve sure fallen.” He said haughtily, “To think you’d leave the seat of the gods to ally yourself with Raimon.”

“Left the seat? That’s wrong. Endou’s strength woke me from my nightmare. He gave me a new power.”

“Without the aqua of the gods…” Gazel began, moving in for the kill, “you can’t do anything!”

“I don’t need something like that.” Aphrodi assured, not even glancing to the side as he passed the ball to Gouenji, who came running past at that moment. Aphrodi darted past Gazel and Gouenji passed the ball to him again, both boys running to the goal.

Yoru felt his breath catch in his throat as Aphrodi moved to shoot, pure white wings sprouting from his back as he leapt into the air and carried the ball with him on a gust of wind.

It was… beautiful.

Rarely did Yoru see Hissatsu techniques that gave off the same kind of grace Aphrodi’s “God Knows” did, and even more rarely was something that looked so bright.

Raimon scored the leading point.

Yoru grinned as Aphrodi and Gouenji high-fived each other, relief coursing through his veins as the rest of Raimon started to realize that Aphrodi was on their side and they could trust him.

Gazel ran his hand through his hair, tugging at it angrily. The toxic glow around him flared, rising and wrapping around him like cobras. It made Yoru’s head throb.

With Raimon’s teamwork returning, Yoru reminded himself that he still had work to do himself: mainly, figuring out the timing to Diamond Dust’s steals.

He watched as Kidou dribbled the ball forward, eyes quickly turning to the Diamond Dust defender who had hurt Rika as he got in Kidou’s way.

The defender ran forward, sliding into the Frozen Steal hissatsu. Yoru’s eyes widened as he noticed the moment Kidou needed to move, leaping to his feet and shouting “Kidou! Move now!!”

Kidou registered the words too late, managing to avoid getting hit but losing the ball.

Yoru grit his teeth, watching as the ball was quickly given to Gazel and the two captains went one-on-one.

Fist of Justice was broken through, the impact knocking Endou off his feet.

The whistle ending first half echoed through the air.


	28. Chapter 27: The Way Down

“Yukimura, you were able to see the timing of Frozen Steal?” Hitomiko questioned, surprise in her voice as the team gathered around them.

Yoru nodded, grinning. “You bet!”

Hitomiko twirled a lock of hair around her fingers, thinking. “How quickly do you think you’d be able to communicate it with the others?”

“About the same as what just happened, I guess? Their speed paired with the slide across ice makes it need to be a split-second maneuver.”

“If someone needs to switch out so Yukimura can help get the ball past their defenses, I wouldn’t mind needing to switch out.” Tachimukai said suddenly.

Yoru’s eyes widened, quickly shaking his head and waving his hands. “What? No, no, it’s okay!” Yoru assured quickly.

As much as he wanted to get out onto the field, if Coach didn’t want him out there and no one was hurt, he didn’t want to take anyone off the field. With the teamwork they had now and Aphrodi’s help, Yoru was now sure they’d be fine with him calling out directions here and there from the sidelines. “I’ll just call out when to move a second earlier, you don’t have to give up your spot on the field for me.”

Tachimukai didn’t look too certain, but he nodded. Hitomiko frowned thoughtfully, looking over the team before sighing. “Yukimura, are you sure you’re alright with being on the sidelines?”

Yoru nodded, smiling at Coach Hitomiko. “Yeah. I would have gladly taken Rika’s place when she got hurt, but since we have Aphrodi and our teamwork is pretty good, I don’t mind sitting out this match.”

Hitomiko nodded, tugging at the lock of hair she’d been playing with. “Alright. We’ll keep playing as we are now but keep an ear out for any calls Yukimura gives you.”

The team let out a chorus of “Yes, coach!”, moving onto focusing to catching their breath in the minutes they had left.

Yoru bit his lip, wondering if he should deactivate his ability to give his eyes a break from Diamond Dust’s glow while he could.

Without the stress of having to watch the match as closely as possible being at the forefront of his mind, a pounding headache was starting to build up behind Yoru’s eyes. It almost felt like his optic nerves were on fire, and he was scared to know how they’d feel once he deactivated his ability.

Mind made up, he spent the rest of half-time trying to keep himself from focusing too hard on the pounding in his head.

When the match resumed, Yoru was quick to go back to focusing on Diamond Dust, studying their faces when he could and doing his best to catch the timing of the moves from the sidelines.

In minutes Tsunami had the ball, flooding the field and riding the ball towards the goal in an attempt to score. Diamond Dust’s goalie blocked it with ease, freezing the ball in place.

“Damn it!” Tsunami cursed, frustrated.

The match was constant back and forth after that, Yoru calling out when to move each time Frozen Steal was brought into the mix or there was a pattern that he happened to find in Diamond Dust’s movements.

“Everyone… you can do it…” Fubuki murmured behind Yoru, hope and worry in his voice.

Yoru turned his attention to Tachimukai and the Diamond Dust players that were near him, watching the big one that always seemed to use Frozen Steal.

A sudden, heavy jolt of pain lanced through his eyes and head, causing Yoru’s sight to blur and concentration to break as he squeezed his eyes shut. A hand flew to forehead, pressing down on it like it might ease the pain.

“Frozen Steal!”

Yoru’s heart leapt into his throat, eyes flying open as he tried to focus on the shapes on the field. Spotting the two he needed, Yoru quickly shouted “Now!”, hoping he wasn’t too late.

Tachimukai was knocked out of the way, the ball falling into Diamond Dust’s hands. Yoru’s heart sunk, fear taking hold as he rubbed at his eyes, trying clear his vision even though he knew it was a fruitless endeavor.

“Yukimura, is everything okay?” Hitomiko asked. Yoru moved his hands from his face, blinking at the grass in front of him for a few moments. When the pain passed, he activated his ability again, giving Hitomiko a thumbs up.

“S-Sorry,” He stuttered, not looking away from the field as he tried to find an excuse. “The position he was coming at was bad, my timing was off.”

Gazel was given the ball, having another one on one against Endou. Once again, Fist of Justice was broken through, and Diamond Dust was in the lead.

Yoru couldn’t help but feel it was his fault.

“The Fist of Justice was broken twice,” Rika murmured weakly.

“It’s alright.” Aki assured softly.

Natsumi quickly followed, sounding far more confident than the others, “The ultimate secret technique doesn’t have a completion. It shouldn’t end like this.”

As much as Yoru wanted to agree, he felt like they were putting too much hope into Fist of Justice. No one said it would be able to evolve in this fight, and they were quickly running out of time for the match. If Gazel scored another point, who knew what would happen.

Fubuki voiced the same concern, “But… we can’t lose any more points.”

“We should be attacking without holding back now.” Hitomiko agreed.

Raimon needed to score another point, or else they’d end up losing.

Determination burning through their veins, all of Raimon’s players pushed even harder, charging through Daimond Dust’s defenses with ease. Aphrodi passed the ball to Gouenji, who immediately moved to use Bakunetsu Storm and scored a goal.

Yoru sighed in relief, leaning back as he closed his eyes. They were safe, for now. All that was left was keeping Diamond Dust from scoring another point.

Diamond Dust had the same idea, marking Gouenji and Aphrodi with vigor in an attempt to keep them from getting or passing the ball.

Yoru gasped, eyes wide with disbelief as Endou left the goal unattended. He leapt to his feet, “What are you _doing_?!” He nearly screeched, followed closely by “ICHINOSE MOVE NOW!” when he saw one of Diamond Dust’s players sliding into Frozen Steal.

It was too late.

The ball was in Diamond Dust’s possession.

The player who had possession of the ball passed to Gazel, Yoru’s heart in his throat as Tsunami let out a shout and leapt into the air, angling himself to knock the ball off its course and give Endou more time to make it back to the goal. Thankfully, the ball was sent out of bounds.

Aphrodi moved to Kidou, talking too quietly for Yoru to hear. He assumed it was about the move they just tried to use.

Yoru’s eyes widened again as Kidou once again had them try a move that cause Endou to leave the goal area, panic and exasperation flooding through him.

He threw his hands in the air in frustration, heaving a sigh as he held his head in his hands a moment later when, as he expected, Diamond Dust stole the ball again.

Aphrodi quickly got in the player’s way, trying to buy Endou time.

“Learn your lesson!” Gazel roared, darting past Aphrodi as he was given the ball and moving in for the kill.

Yoru’s heart was in his throat, watching in terror as Endou moved to stop the ball.

“No! You’re outside the penalty area!” Kidou shouted, seeing that Endou was about to use Fist of Justice. “You can’t use your hands!”

Endou gasped, frozen in place as he tried to think of what to do as Gazel’s Northern Impact quickly grew closer.

Endou let out a shout, moving to headbutt the ball away. Yoru’s eyes widened as he met the hissatsu head-on, a golden light forming at Endou’s forehead as a golden fist grew to knock the ball away. The new hissatsu couldn’t hold it’s shape, knocking both Endou and the ball into the air.

The whistle blew, leaving 22 stunned players on the field.

A tie.

“What was that just now?”

“A new technique?”

Yoru tensed as Hiroto and Burn appeared on the field, walking over to Gazel’s side.

“That’s enough Gazel,” Hiroto said, smiling at his friend as he continued warmly, “You sure showed us, Endou. Nice work, improving this much in such a short time.”

“We’ll get as strong as it takes to defeat Aliea Academy.” Endou responded determinedly, returning none of the pleasantries.

“That’s nice,” Hiroto agreed, “I’d like to see it too… The strongest team on Earth.”

Endou tensed, squaring his shoulders. “Is that what you really think?”

Hiroto didn’t respond to the question, silent for a moment before he bid Endou a goodbye. A black and blue soccerball descended onto the ground, turning a blinding white as Diamond Dust, Hiroto, and Burn were transported back to wherever their base was. Gazel was determined to have the last word, promising Raimon’s defeat the next time they met.

Raimon was silent for a few more minutes, taking in what had just occurred.

As if realizing there was no more danger, Yoru’s body finally allowed for him to relax and breathe again.

Yoru placed a hand to his chest, deflating as he let out the breath he’d been holding from Kidou’s insane plan of action. He flopped back down onto the ground, feeling exhausted as he dropped his head back.

“Are you okay, Yukimura?” Fubuki asked as Yoru dropped the rest of the way to the floor, arms spread out at his sides.

 “My head hurts.” He sighed wearily, his words nearly bordering on a groan as he closed his eyes. The pain that met him as he canceled his ability felt like his head was splitting, a constant throb just behind his eyelids that made Yoru regret having to open his eyes later.

The world had lost almost all it’s shape, replaced with fuzzy blurs of color and faint dots of light. He let out a small groan, scrubbing his face with his hands.

Well, at least he hadn’t completely wrecked his sight yet, according to the symptoms he remembered Dr. Agehira telling him about.

Opening his eyes again, he noticed Fubuki was offering him his hand, and Yoru reached for it, hoping he wouldn’t miss it since he couldn’t tell if he still had depth perception this close.

He nearly sighed in relief as his hand clasped around Fubuki’s wrist and Fubuki’s hand did the same to his own, rolling himself over as he was lifted to his feet. Their hold on each other lingered for only a moment, though Yoru wished he didn’t have to let go at all with the way his eyes were right now.

He looked over at Coach Hitomiko’s colors, heart sinking as he realized he was going to have to flip between having his ability on and off for a few hours, at least.

Outside the stadium, Endou asked if Aphrodi would fight with them.

Aphrodi nodded, affirming that he’d be staying with the team for at least a little while. Yoru could hardly focus on what was being said, leaning against the side of the caravan as he tried to pay attention past the constant pounding in his head.

Frankly, sleep sounded _amazing_ right about now.

“Endou,” Coach’s voice reminded Yoru that he needed to keep listening, if only a little longer, and he tried to focus on Hitomiko’s voice as she continued to speak.

“You are removed from your position as goalkeeper.”

Everyone fell silent, probably staring at their coach in shock. Yoru couldn’t say he was surprised by her decision: they nearly lost the game because the moves they were trying to use pulled Endou away from the goal. They couldn’t have him constantly leaving his position if he was goalkeeper, it made them too vulnerable. If Endou was going to be a part of their plays, they needed to change his position to something less dangerous.

Of course, no one else seemed to share the same sentiment.

“I’m against your decision, Coach! Endou is the only goalkeeper for this team!”

“Right; don’t be crazy.”

“Why would you even say something like that?”

“I don’t like this either!”

Coach Hitomiko was quiet, letting them air out their objections. “In order to win,” She clarified, “You can no longer be our goalkeeper.”

“I agree with Coach.” Kidou said, prompting Yoru to raise his hand.

“Same here.” Yoru announced, glancing over at them. He could feel the others shock even from where he stood. He sighed.

“We have to become the strongest team on Earth, right?” He asked them, “So that means we can’t pull stunts like you guys just did. Leaving the goal open against teams like Aliea’s is practically suicide.”

Kidou nodded, turning back to Endou. “When you leave the goalpost to join in our hissatsu shoot, that gives the enemy a free chance, meaning a large weak spot for us. Weak spots much be conquered.” His voice softened from the command it held moments before, “Only then will we be able to call ourselves Earth’s most perfect and strongest team.”

Yoru held in a wince, worry pushing itself to the surface as he tried to find Fubuki in the blur of colors. The wording Kidou used…

“So what exactly is it you want Endou to do?” Touko asked angrily.

“We’re going to have him change.” Kidou explained. Touko let out a confused sound.

“Endou.” Kidou continued. “You must become a libero.”

“Libero?” Endou repeated, disbelief and confusion in his voice.

“So you have the same idea as I do, Kidou.” Coach Hitomiko breathed, relief tinting her words behind their confidence.

“Yes. In order to win against Aliea Academy, we’ll need to make bolder changes. The key to that could be Endou.”

Yoru hummed as Endou started to piece together what Hitomiko and Kidou were insinuating, bringing up the technique Endou had brought to life at the end of the game.

“If you can master that technique, you’ll become a first-class libero.” Kidou declared.

The others proceeded to repeat the position name, trying it out on their tongues as they thought about what that meant.

“What’s a libero?” Tsunami asked. Before Yoru could respond, Megane did it for him.

“’Libero’ is an Italian word that means ‘free’, and it referred to a player that not only defends but can also move up the field to attack.”

Tsunami hummed thoughtfully, followed closely by Endou’s response to Kidou and Hitomiko’s proposition.

“I’ve decided… I’ll do it. If I want to win and grow stronger, I have to change. I’ll be a libero!” Endou announced.

Accepting his decision, the rest of the team quickly took a shine to the idea.

“So, if Captain’s going to be a libero, who will protect our goal?” Kogure asked.

Yoru chuckled. “Tachimukai, of course.” He picked out which swatch of color was Endou’s number one fan, smiling at him. Endou nodded in agreement.

“Are you sure about making the decision as simple as that?” Touko asked worriedly.

“Indeed,” Megane agreed, adjusting his glasses. “I’m sorry to be rude, but Tachimukai still has very little experience as goalkeeper.”

“Well, he has more experience than the rest of us, doesn’t he?” Yoru asked in return. “Plus, he mastered God Hand and Majin the Hand through hard practice and after seeing the technique a small handul of times, if not once. That right there is talent, if you ask me.”

Endou quickly added on, “It’ll be alright! I can’t explain it very well, but I can feel potential from Tachimukai. He’s gonna be amazing, I know it!” Endou looked at Tachimukai, “If we leave it to him, I’m sure that we’ll be okay.”

“But… me….” Tachimukai tensed, flustered, “Me, protect Raimon’s goal?”

“I share the same request, Tachimukai.” Hitomiko added kindly. Kidou added his own opinion, reaffirming that Tachimukai had learned moves that had already gotten Raimon this far with Endou.

Tachimukai was quick to agree as Endou told him to protect Raimon’s goal, the rest of the team quickly agreeing.

“With Tachimukai as our goalkeeper, this team will get even stronger, right? Than let’s get as strong as we can!” Tsunami cheered, punching the air with his fist.

Tachimukai quickly turned to Endou and the Coach, thanking them and telling them he’d do his best. Yoru smiled, chuckling softly as Tsunami told him to loosen up a little.

“This is a revolutionary movement for the Raimon Eleven!” Megane announced, adjusting his glasses so the sun glinted off them. “Endo as libero. Aphrodi as forward. Tachimukai as goalkeeper… It’s the birth of a super-aggressive Raimon Eleven!”

Yoru was inclined to agree.


	29. Chapter 28: Enchanted

Yoru was essentially dead to the world as soon as he sat down in the caravan, resting his head against the seat in front of him and nearly sighing in relief from the cold material. He was vaguely aware of Fubuki patting his back as he sat down beside him and Gouenji asking if he was feeling alright, but Yoru was out like a light in seconds.

When he woke up again, Fubuki was shaking his shoulder and Tsunami was tossing them their bags.

“Yukimura, Fubuki! Come join us!” Yoru groggily gave his friend a thumbs up, rubbing sleep from his eyes with his other hand.

Blinking his eyes and shaking his head of sleep, Yoru was happy to see his vision wasn’t as terrible as it’d been after the match, although it was still pretty bad.

He slapped his cheeks to wake himself up even further, standing up a second after Fubuki.  “Okay,” He sighed, looking at Fubuki’s blurry form. “What’s happening?”

“Endou’s letting us stay at his house.” Fubuki explained softly, voice sounding like even he wasn’t quite all there. “You feeling better?”

“Well,” Yoru paused, accessing the remaining headache. It hadn’t eased up much, but he was certainly feeling less tired, so that had to mean something. “I’m able to keep my eyes open.”

Fubuki nodded, falling silent again. Yoru frowned, wondering if Fubuki was feeling okay himself. “Fubu—”

Before he could continue, Fubuki was already walking to the front of the caravan, like he hadn’t even noticed that Yoru had started talking again.

Yoru frowned, a glance at Gouenji showing that he was watching Fubuki as well.

“Hey, was he okay on the ride over?” Yoru asked softly. Gouenji shrugged, though his gaze didn’t leave Fubuki, which gave away his worry.

Yoru bit his lip, quickly following after Fubuki.

\----

As Endou and the others started filing into Endou’s home, Fubuki stayed where he was, as if waiting for something. Yoru stopped as well, turning to look at the striker.

Chances are he was thinking of visiting the nearby hospital, since Someoka was there.

“Do you want me to come along?” Yoru asked, smiling gently at Fubuki. He’d notice that Fubuki seemed to be especially down on the way here, and while Fubuki and he had a mutual understanding that the other would always tag along on any “adventures” if they didn’t sneak away or state it outright, Yoru had a feeling this might be one-time Fubuki preferred to be alone.

As expected, Fubuki shook his head, smiling weakly at Yoru.

“No, thank you. I want to use this as a chance to clear my head.” Fubuki explained apologetically.

“Okay,” Yoru assured, hating that Fubuki felt he needed to apologize somehow for wanting to be alone. “Tell Someoka I say hi, then.”

Fubuki’s smile brightened, Hakuren’s Prince nodding quickly. “Will do!”

Yoru watched as Fubuki started towards the hospital, unable to stop himself from noticing how Fubuki’s excitement seemed to deflate the further away he got. Yoru’s heart hurt at the sight, knowing that Fubuki was having a particularly bad day with Atsuya and Shiro the way they were. Desperately, he wished he could help.

Except, he already knew how his words would affect Fubuki.

“Is he going to be okay?”

Yoru looked beside him, surprised to see Gouenji glancing back at Fubuki’s receeding form as well. At the same time, it almost made his heart warm from a mix of relief and happiness. Maybe Gouenji really could…

“He’s just got a lot on his mind right now.” Yoru explained, rubbing the back of his neck. Gouenji let out a thoughtful huff, starting to head in the direction of his own house like many of the others had done. Seeing his chance slipping away, Yoru yelped and grabbed Gouenji’s wrist. “Wait!”

Gouenji flinched, whirling around to look at him with wide eyes. Yoru quickly let go of his wrist, mind screeching to a halt as he realized he had no idea what to say.

“U-Um…” Yoru looked away, scratching at his cheek. “I just… I need to ask you something… and it’s kind of weird.”

“…What is it?” Gouenji asked warily, turning to face Yoru fully.

Yoru frowned, trying to piece together his words. “It's just… I… I saw you talking to Fubuki back in Okinawa, during practice after the match, and…” Yoru sighed, looking down at the ground. Why was this so hard to ask?

“…You probably figured this out already, but Fubuki…” Yoru floundered for the right thing to say, not sure how to describe what had happened. “The last match broke something in him, has made him terrified of the ball; of being himself. Even before that, he hasn't smiled in weeks. He’s getting distant, more so than when I first met him.” Yoru explained worriedly, looking down at the ground as he continued.

“Quite frankly, it's terrifying seeing him like that. He’s usually shining brighter than the moon, but now it's like he’s being pumbled by an astroid field until nothing is left but dust, or he’s a star on the edge of imploding. He’s crashing and burning and it’s incredibly painful to see.”

Gouenji raised an eyebrow at Yoru, a subtle concern in his eyes even Yoru’s currently messed up eyes could pinpoint as he spoke. “…Why are you telling me this?”

 “I'm not meant to be the one to pull Fubuki from his darkness.” Yoru croaked, wincing at how his voice cracked from admitting what he’d known all along. “But you…” He motioned to Gouenji, laughing weakly, “You’re a flame that shines so brightly it radiates around you like the sun. You're like a phoenix.

“I know this is a lot to ask, I really do, but Fubuki’s hurting so badly. So I—” Yoru paused, looking away again as he hugged himself. He hated having to ask this, feeling like he’d failed Fubuki where Fubuki had helped him countless times again and again.

 “I… was hoping you could help him.”

Silence filled the air, Yoru unable to stop himself from cringing as the quiet after stretched on.

“Please,” He begged, voice trembling as he looked back at Gouenji.

Gouenji’s face betrayed none of his emotions, as stoic as ever. Or maybe he was expressing something Yoru just couldn’t see with his eyes the way they were currently.

Yoru was starting to feel stupid—he was just asking another kid to pick up where he’d failed. If he’d crumbled, what would stop Gouenji from doing the same?

A warm hand settled itself on Yoru’s shoulder, causing him to meet Gournji’s eyes. The flame striker seemed to have a small, understanding smile on his face, and Yoru was mortified to realize his own cheeks were wet with tears.

He gasped, leaping away from Gouenji and rubbing at his eyes. “Shit, sorry, sorry, I can't believe I started _crying_ , I can't even imagine how desperate that must've loo—”

“I’ll do my best.”

Yoru froze, looking at Gouenji with wide eyes. “Huh?”

Gouenji chuckled faintly, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I’ll do my best.” He repeated, looking at the sunset in the distance where Fubuki had gone. “I wasn’t just gonna leave him be, anyway…. He looks like he wants to play, but something’s holding him back.”

Something eased itself in Yoru’s chest, melting away and making it easier to breathe. He could feel that Gouenji was what Fubuki needed, that he was the push Yoru couldn’t quite give. Knowing Gouenji at least felt similar to Yoru about the situation made him sure that it was the right decision asking him for help.

He just hoped it would work.

“Thank you.” He breathed gratefully.

Gouenji shrugged. “You might want to hold onto the thanks until Fubuki’s back to being himself.”

“He’ll get there.” Yoru assured, no doubt in his mind that Fubuki would get better. Shiro and Astuya were just having a bad time right now. They’d figure it out eventually. With Gouenji’s bright and powerful presence beside them, Yoru knew they’d be fine.

Gouenji chuckled, nodding once before heading towards his own home.

 Left alone by the caravan, Yoru felt the warmth in his chest turning cold again, the whispers in the back of his mind coming to light.

 _He’ll make things right. He’ll succeed where you’ve failed, like always_.

Yoru grit his teeth, shaking his head. This was good. Fubuki was going to be alright, and that’s what mattered.

\----

Yoru looked away from where he had been conversing with Tsunami, grin returning full force as he saw Fubuki coming around the corner.

“Fubuki! We’ve been waiting for you!” Endou exclaimed, running over and taking Fubuki’s bag from him before making him sit beside Yoru. Yoru smiled, chuckling at Fubuki’s stunned expression and bumping their shoulders together.

“How was the walk?” He asked softly, handing Fubuki a shesh-kabab as Tsunami leaned over and grinned at the Snow Prince.

“Barbeque is a survival game. If you don’t eat up soon, you won’t get any of the meat!” Tsunami cheerfully proclaimed.

“You’ve been eating the most out of all of us.” Kogure said with a laugh.

Endou was quick to jump back in, grinning as he held out some more food. “Mom made meat and potatoes, too! It’s really good, so try some!”

Yoru was glad to see Fubuki smile happily from the others eager inclusion of him, no matter how small it was.

‘Yep,’ He thought, taking a bite of his food and quickly pulling Fubuki into the conversation he’d been having with Tsunami, ‘Fubuki’s going to be just fine.’

\----

Practice with Raimon’s new formation went about as smoothly as practice usually did when trying to learn something new, which meant lots of failures but constant attempts to get it right.

It was interesting to see Endou strapped into a ring of tires to keep him from using his hands, although Yoru wondered if it was really okay for them to keep launching balls at their captain’s head in hopes the same energy from the match would return. Soccer balls weren’t exactly _soft_ , after all.

He spent most of the days beside Fubuki on the bench, calling out directions or giving words of encouragement to whoever needed them.

“Aren’t you going to practice with the others?” Fubuki asked, frowning as he looked at Yoru.

Yoru looked over at him for a moment, shrugging as he leaned back to look at the sky. “Nah, I’d rather hang out over here with you.” He said simply, smiling and looking back at Fubuki. “Why do you ask?”

Fubuki shrugged, looking down at the soccer ball in his hands. “You haven’t practiced in a while.”

“Ah,” Yoru’s smile saddened, realizing what Fubuki was probably thinking. “Well, I haven’t really been having much chance for my bad leg to work out properly since we’ve been in a car almost constantly for a while now.” He explained, not wanting to mention that it didn’t feel right to practice without Fubuki there beside him in case it made Fubuki feel worse, or that his vision still hadn’t quite cleared up since the match with Diamond Dust,

“I still stretch it when I can in case I’m ever going to be put into a match— though I’m positive that’s not going to happen anytime soon— but it feels like it’d be bad to suddenly go from sitting in a car all day to training super hard.”

Fubuki let out a thoughtful hum, looking over at him, “What makes that different from a match, though?”

Yoru froze, looking away as he tried to figure out how to get himself out of the corner he’d manage to shove himself into. “Uhhhh…”

As his mind worked itself into overdrive trying to find a reasonable response to the question, a soft chuckle made Yoru’s brain short-circuit for a moment. He snapped his attention back to Fubuki as the quiet chuckle turned into soft laughter, the striker beside him loosely covering his smile with a hand as he laughed.

[](https://ibb.co/PYsx8hr)  
  


“It’s okay, Yukimura,” He chuckled, the sound like bells after not hearing it in so long, “It’s sweet that you want to stay here with me.”

Yoru felt his entire face go red, floundering for something the say in response. “W-Wha—no—I’m just— I—”

Fubuki raised an eyebrow at him, a knowing look in his eyes as he waited for Yoru to try and finish the sentence.

Giving up, Yoru’s shoulders slumped and he hung his head with a sigh. “Okay, you got me.” He admitted, glancing over at Fubuki from the corner of his eye.

Fubuki smirked at him before turning his attention back to the field, where the others were training.

Endou let out a growl as Gouenji’s next shoot came at him, causing Yoru to look his way. The same energy from the fight against Diamond Dust flared to life around their captain, forming a similar golden fist from Endou’s forehead. Yoru grinned.

“The flow of power has changed.” Aphrodi commented proudly, a hand on his hip.

Yoru, Fubuki, and the others quickly ran to their captain’s side, excited to hear if Endou had figured out the hissatsu.

“Endou! Did you figure it out?” Tachimukai asked excitedly.

Endou beamed. “Yeah! I can feel my whole body burning up!”

“Want to test it against a hissatsu shoot?” Kidou asked.

Endou quickly agreed, so the others quickly unstrapped him from the tires while Ichinose, Kidou, and Gouenji prepped to do one of their shoots.

“If it has the power to hit this back, it’s the real thing!” Kidou announced, arms crossed over his chest before he let out a whistle. Ichinose and Gouenji darted forward and at Kidou’s call, Penguins sprouted from the earth, shooting like missiles as they wrapped around the ball after Kidou kicked it.

As the ball reached Ichinose and Gouenji, they powered the shoot even further by kicking it at the same time.

Endou powered up his own hissatsu, the golden hand forming above him and casting an enormous shadow over the field. Yoru let out a short, amazed whistle as Endou managed to send the ball flying back, the new technique successfully created.

“You did it, Endou!” Aki cheered.

“There’s no completion for the ultimate secret techniques,” Natsumi agreed, “It’s evolved magnificently into a heading technique.”

“I’ve got it! How about giving the name Megaton Head for this heading technique, due to its absolute power?”

“Megaton Head, huh?” Endou was quick to give Megane a thumbs up as he chuckled, “That’s a good name!”

“Endou! I’ll work hard to master the ultimate Mugen the Hand, too!” Tachimukai declared, determination and fire in his eyes.

“Endou!” Kidou called, “We’ve still got much to do to power it up!”

“Yeah, give me whatever you’ve got!” Endou assured, hitting the ball he held in his hands.

“That’s the spirit. In order to win against Aliea Academy’s master rank teams, we much not allow ourselves any limits.” Kidou explained, smiling confidently at Endou, “I want you to learn another hissatsu technique.”

Endou was quick to agree, pausing as he realized he had no idea which technique Kidou was planning.

Kidou smirked. “The key is at Teikoku Academy.”

\-----

Yoru stared at Teikoku Academy’s walls, noticing how it seemed like an impenetrable fortess: foreboding and cold.

It was almost hard to believe that Kidou used to go here, and yet the proof that he had was there in the way he led them to the soccerfield with no hesitation.

The field was little better in atmosphere than the rest of the school, the walls high and immovable, consuming all that walked into its maw.

After helping the other managers bring in the towels and water bottles for the rest of team, Yoru settled himself at Fubuki’s feet, stretching his legs out in front of him and crossing them at the ankle.

He watched the group idly, noticing that Aphrodi was constantly glancing back in their direction. Yoru hummed thoughtfully, wondering if he’d finally started to question why Fubuki, at the very least, wasn’t practicing.

“Kidou, Domon, and I are gonna do the Death Zone. Tachimukai’s on Mugen the Hand. Everyone else should work on their individual training menus, too!” Endou said, earning shouts of agreement from the rest of the team.

It wasn’t long before Teikoku’s team was arriving onto the field, Yoru winced at the sight of Sakuma still needing a crutch from the stunts that had been pulled at True Teikoku, hoping he was continuing to heal and not permanently stuck using a crutch like Yoru almost had to do.

Yoru gave the team a wave, watching as Endou and Kidou ran over to them. The rest of the players on the field were quick to join them, and it wasn’t much longer before the teams decided to have a friendly match.

When Sakuma made his way over to the bench, Yoru wasted no time in asking his question, only a little afraid to know the answer.

“Is your leg going to be okay?”

Sakuma blinked, startled by the suddenness of the question. “It’s… going to be fine?” He answered, though it came across as more of a question due to his confusion of why Yoru was asking it in the first place.

Still, the answer made tension leave Yoru’s shoulders and he let out a relieved groan, his head falling back onto the seat behind him. “Oh, thank god, that is wonderful to hear.”

“….Thanks?”

Otonashi giggled from where she sat, gladly handing Sakuma the pieces he was missing. “Yukimura had an incident a few years ago that permanently damaged his leg.”

“I hate the idea that you or anyone else who gets hurt in a game won’t be able to play again, so if I get the chance I always like checking up on anyone who was hurt during a game my team was a part of; I don’t want what happened to me happening to anyone else.” Yoru explained further.

Sakuma let out a small gasp at the news, although it was followed by a warm chuckle. “Thank you for the concern, then. That’s really nice of you to do.”

Yoru barked out a laugh, glancing at Sakuma as he shrugged. “I wouldn’t hold me in _too_ high regard; I’m doing it for my benefit just as much as anyone else’s.”

Silence met his words, but he could feel Fubuki’s disagreeing frown from here.

Yoru turned his attention to the match instead, listening as Sakuma explained why Endou, Domon, and Kidou were on Teikoku’s side for the match.

He understood the reasoning behind the change, but Yoru couldn’t help but feel like Kidou was going about it wrong. He didn’t know what they did to teach Ichinose and Gouenji Emperor Penguin, but they didn’t do this exact scenario, right?

If Emperor Penguin, a technique from Teikoku, was taught outside of Teikoku’s walls, why couldn’t Death Zone be treated the same?


	30. Chapter 29: Rolling Boy

To say the least, Yoru was impressed.

The trust Kidou had in his old teammates was practically flawless. He could pass the ball to them without even looking.

Maybe that was part of what was holding Raimon’s Death Zone attempts back. Kidou was treating them too much like Teikoku.

The match continued, the ball constantly being given to Kidou, Endou, or Domon so they could try Death Zone, only to fail and be caught by Tachimukai’s own efforts at Mugen the Hand.

Yoru frowned. Had they really not noticed it yet? Their timing and rotations were perfect, yet Death Zone continued to fail.

Perfection was the problem.

For what must have been the twentieth time, Death Zone failed to properly take its shape, leaving Kidou, Endou, and Domon panting and steadily getting frustrated.

“The rotations are good. We’re matching well, too. Just what… what’s missing?” Kidou panted. Yoru watched as their command tower gritted his teeth, wracking his brain to see where the problem was.

Yoru bit the inside of his cheek, tapping his fingers against his lap.

“You look like you’ve figured something out.” Fubuki whispered, leaning forward to talk more easily with Yoru.

Yoru nodded, sighing and pulling a leg up so he could prop his arm on it as he rested his chin in his hand. “It’s more of a theory right now, I think.”

Fubuki hummed, nudging Yoru with his foot. “Aren’t you gonna tell them your theory, then?”

“I _could_ ,” Yoru agreed, looking at Fubuki, “But I feel like this should be something they figure out themselves.”

Fubuki chuckled. “You sure say that a lot.”

“I don’t like solving people’s problem for them. Lessens the growth.”

Fubuki let out a distracted hum, looking back out at the field.

The whistle for half-time blew, so Yoru helped the girls pass out water bottles and towels to the players on the field. Kidou went to sit next to Sakuma,

Seeing Tachimukai pondering over just what the secret to Mugen the Hand was, Yoru nudged his shoulder against Tsunami’s, grinning. “Hey, I think you’d probably be a good fit to helping Tachimukai with Mugen the Hand.”

“You think?” Tsunami asked, laughing softly, “I’m still trying to figure all this stuff out, man.”

“You’re catching along fast!” Yoru assured, “And hey, who helped me figure out Grimm Reaper without knowing anything about soccer?”

“Your sister-in-law?”

Yoru stared, dumbfounded. “…You’re kidding, right?”

Tsunami grinned, laughing heartily as he patted Yoru’s shoulder. “Totally messing with you. I’ll go see if I can help Tachimukai!”

Yoru watched as Tsunami darted over to where Tachimukai was mulling over the notebook, chuckling as Tsunami proceeded to startle the goalkeeper. Hopefully they’d figure out how to help Mugen the Hand come to fruition.

\----

‘Alright, this has gone on long enough,’ Yoru thought with a sigh. They were still stuck on what was wrong with Death Zone, and frankly, Yoru wasn’t sure how much longer he could watch them fixate on the wrong part of the problem. He cupped his hands around his mouth, calling, “Hey, Kidou!”

The players turned to face him, so Yoru continued knowing he had their attention. “I was just wondering, Emperor Penguin was also a Teikoku move originally, right?”

“Yeah. What’s your point?”

“Well, did you guys train here to learn it?”

“N…o?”

Yoru hummed, Kidou’s confused response confirming his suspicions. “Then what makes this one different?” He asked, earning stunned sounds of surprise from most of the people in the stadium. He pulled his feet in, sitting cross-legged and holding up a finger as he made his point.

“You’re still struggling to keep the power behind the shoot even though you’re doing everything perfect; you’ve got the timing down flat, you’re all facing the ball as you shoot, etc.” He lifted a finger with each point he gave, showing that by all accounts it should be working if it was that simple, “And I was noticing; it seems like instead of making this _Raimon’s_ Death Zone, you’re just trying to recreate _Teikoku’s_.”

“But it _is_ Teikoku’s, isn’t it?” Tsunami asked, confused. “Isn’t the whole point of these hissatsu techniques that different pairs of people can use them?”

Yoru nodded, smiling at Tsunami. “Yeah, there are shoots like that. Emperor Penguin is a perfect example of that kind. But other shoot techniques only work a certain way with certain people — for instance, Fubuki’s and my Avalanche. We’re the only two who can use it, because we’re the two who have the combined shoots that create it.

“If we were to teach other people Ice ground, Eternal Blizzard, and Grimm Reaper, there’s a small chance they could recreate it—”

“But there’s a higher chance that they wouldn’t have the same chemistry that created the shoot in the first place.” Kidou finished, dawning understanding in his voice. “Endou, Domon!” Kidou whirled around to face his teammates.

Yoru grinned, leaning back against the seats. Looks like that was the push they needed.

“What happened to letting them figure it out for themselves?” Fubuki asked quietly, chuckling.

Yoru elbowed his leg, laughing as well. “Oh, shush.”

Once again Kidou, Endou, and Domon tried to use Death Zone, only this time their rotations were completely different from each other.

The hissatsu fully came to life, shooting into the goal before Tachimukai even had a chance to stop it.

Yoru grinned, standing and going with the others to hear how Kidou had solved their dilemma.

“I see, we were able to do it because it’s our own timing!” Endou said, excitement coming off him in waves. Kidou nodded in agreement, turning to Genda.

“It’s all thanks to you that we were able to do it.”

“No, it’s the result of your effort.” Sakuma countered, “And this isn’t the end of it, right?”

Yoru raised an eyebrow, curious as to what Sakuma meant. He’d figured this wasn’t all of it, but he was still as in the dark as the rest of Raimon over whatever else Kidou had planned.

“We’ll practice a technique stronger than Death Zone.”

Something shifted.

Yoru looked around, concern building in his chest. He couldn’t even focus on the shoot Kidou was showing the others, the air around the stadium not feeling _right_. No one else seemed to notice.

The energy buzzed throught the air, making Yoru restless. Something felt wrong. Distorted.

The familiar whistle of Aliea’s black soccer balls reached a crescendo in the air, crashing down in the center of Teikoku’s field in a blue of toxic purple smoke. Yoru’s eyes widened, fear taking hold in his chest.

Gazel and Burn had joined forces.

\----

“Yukimura,”

Yoru turned at the sound of his name, wondering what Coach Hitomiko wanted. “Yeah?”

“We’ll need your power on the field during this match. Which means that if your leg can handle it, I need you to practice with the rest of them.” Hitomiko said, apology in her eyes as the unspoken _‘your eyes will get hurt’_ passed between them.

“Oh…” Yoru’s stomach twisted, worried for an entirely different reason as he looked over at Fubuki. “…but…”

“It’s okay, Yukimura,” Fubuki’s voice was filled with false assurance, eyes speaking far more of the truth as cool grey-blue reflected dark ice. Yoru’s heart clenched, uneasy.  “Go train, I’ll be fine over here by myself.”

Yoru wanted to argue, confliction pulling him left and right. He knew it was important he train with the others now that they _knew_ he was going to be in a match, but he hated the idea of leaving Fubuki alone.

He studied Fubuki’s face, looking for any sign that he didn’t really want Yoru to leave, but Fubuki had closed himself off entirely. Yoru knew what he was doing, and he hated it. Understood it, sure, but hated it all the same.

With a defeated sigh, Yoru agreed to train.

It wasn’t too long into the training when Yoru caught Fubuki leaving the field. Concern welled up in Yoru’s chest and without giving it a second thought, he ran over to the retreating striker.

“Fubuki!”

Thankfully Fubuki paused, turning to look at Yoru as he ran up the small hill beside the field. Yoru didn’t bother to hide his concern with a smile.

“Hey, I’m not going to stop you from going off by yourself since that’s what you’d been planning,” He began, keeping his voice quiet so only they could hear. “but are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Fubuki dully assured, “I’m okay.”

Yoru bit his lip, finding it hard to believe Fubuki was okay when exhaustion dripped from his voice with each word. “Let me know if you need anything, okay? Or Natsume and mom. We’re all open ears, y’know?”

Fubuki laughed softly, looking away as he smiled ever-so-slightly. “I know.”

“Okay,” Yoru affirmed, smiling, “Okay, good. I’ll leave you be now.”

With that said, Yoru tried not to hesitate as he stepped away from Fubuki, hating the feeling that he was walking away from Fubuki, even though he knew he was coddling him.

Yoru made his way back onto the field, shaking his head in response to the silent question Aphrodi and Gouenji gave him.

The atmosphere around the field grew heavy, pressing down on Yoru even as he connected pass after pass.

\---

“Alright, that’s in for practice today!”

At Kidou’s words Yoru wilted, placing his hands on his knees and hanging his head as he panted. His right leg may as well have been burning, the ache of his scar having faded and turned to liquid heat a while ago.

He hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite him tomorrow.

“Ech,” Yoru’s nose crinkled with distaste as he felt the fabric of his pants sticking to his legs, “I don’t think I’ve sweat this much since I last played in Okinawa. Gross.”

“What about your usual training?” Aphrodi asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

Yoru huffed. “My normal training is pretty light, sadly, unless I’m feeling pretty good that day. Even then it just goes until my leg decides it doesn’t want to stretch anymore.”

“I see.”

Yoru straightened, moving to place his hands on his back and lean back. “It’s stupid, but it’s the best I’m allowed now that I’ve essentially annoyed every single doctor I’ve met about it.”

“I’m sure you’d feel better if you wore shorts instead of pants when playing, too.” Otonashi suggested as she gave them towel and water bottles. Yoru smiled gratefully at her, though it felt weird taking them instead of handing them out.

“Oh, believe me, it would,” Yoru readily agreed, no arguments to be had as he wiped his forehead with the towel, “but I also feel better keeping my scar as covered as possible, cause honestly, it’s gross-looking and no one wants to see that.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Otonashi said, smiling at Yoru. “You’re always your worst critic, y’know? I’m sure the same can be said about scars!”

Yoru laughed, nodding. “Yeah, that’s true! But I’m sure this one is a unanimous opinion.”

Otonashi let out a sound that said she disagreed, and Yoru quickly changed the conversation as he looked around the field. “Did Fubuki ever come back?”

Otonashi’s smile faded, her gaze falling to the ground. She didn’t even have to shake her head; Yoru knew what the answer was already, and it made Yoru’s chest hollow.

“… Oh…”

\----

Yoru stared at the top of the caravan, seeing that Fubuki had his gaze fixed to the stars. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he should try to talk to him or not.

Try as he might to act normal, Fubuki had been feeling off ever since his glow had shattered, and Yoru wasn’t oblivious enough to miss it.

Gnawing on his lower lip, Yoru debated climbing up to join Fubuki and maybe trying to see if he was willing to share some of his troubles or leaving him be. If Fubuki didn’t want to share, wanted to completely work out what he was going through himself, that was fine.

It left a bad taste in Yoru’s mouth.

It felt… wrong, leaving Fubuki all alone with his thoughts when he could make Yoru feel better with ease. It hurt to know that his friend was suffering and he couldn’t do a single thing about it—he couldn’t even properly offer words of encouragement.

“Yukimura,” Yoru froze for a moment as Fubuki looked down from the sky, a sad smile on his face, “Aren’t you coming up here?”

Yoru stuttered a moment, but quickly made his way to the top of the caravan, settling himself down next to Fubuki. “How’d you know it was me?”

“I saw you come out of the caravan.”

“Oh.”

Silence fell over the two, Yoru at a loss for what to say. He picked at a thread in his sleeping bag, gnawing on his lip again.

“… Yukimura, can I ask you something?”

Yoru was almost startled by the gentle quiet of Fubuki’s voice in the silence. He nodded, smiling at Fubuki. “Of course you can.”

Fubuki was silent again, looking out at Raimon’s soccer field as he wrapped his arms around his legs to hug himself. “What… What should I do?”

Yoru’s breath caught in his throat, heart stopping for a moment. Fubuki sounded so broken.

“I wish Atsuya had never existed,” Yoru’s eyes widened at the admission, but Shiro continued before he had a chance to respond. “If he wasn’t here, then I could play soccer with everyone. But I can’t do that. I can’t chase Atsuya out… He’s my little brother.”

Shiro’s shoulders started to shake, eyes screwed shut. “If I chase him out he’ll really disappear. I won’t be able to see him anymore. I don’t know what to do, Yukimura.”

Yoru’s heart ached almost violently from Shiro’s words. It hurt to see him in so much pain, to hear how his voice shook with fear at the thought of losing the only remnant of his family he had left.

Hesitantly, Yoru placed a hand on Fubuki’s shoulder, shifting closer to him. He carefully thought about what to say, cringing at each option. He knew what he wanted to say, and yet no idea how to say it.

“… Why do you have to chase him away?” He asked carefully, “Have you talked with him lately? Maybe you two could come to an understanding of some kind?”

“…The only thing we both like is soccer, and you’ve seen what that did to us.” Shiro mumbled into his knees. Yoru tried not to show that the words hurt; he thought he and his family were liked well by both Fubukis, but apparently, he was wrong.

Granted, considering how this whole situation has been making Yoru act, he wouldn’t be surprised that Fubuki’s opinion of him went down.

Yoru was quiet for a moment as he collected himself, making sure his voice didn’t show any of the hurt as he said, “Atsuya’s afraid to disappear, too, you know.”

Shiro lifted his head, eyes wide as he looked at Yoru. “H-He is?”

Yoru nodded, laughing slightly, “He’ll probably kill me for telling you that, but yeah. He is.”

Shiro was silent, still looking at Yoru with surprise. Yoru smiled, lifting a hand and lazily starting to count off more reasons. “You guys also like Raimon, right? And Hakuren. You like snowboarding and ice-skating, though Atsuya’s a bit more into hockey if I recall, You want the people around you to be happy, never hurting… Soccer’s definitely your biggest mutual interest, though. Hands down.”

Yoru snapped his fingers, remembering the most important thing he wanted to list. “Oh! And I like both of you!” He exclaimed, laughing as Shiro’s already wide eyes got even wider, “So I’d be really sad if one of you disappeared.”

Shiro stared, stunned into silence. Yoru smiled gently at him, turning serious. “I can’t tell you who to be, Shirou. Whether you want to be the sweet, soft-hearted Shiro, or the snarky, hot-headed Atsuya, that’s your decision to make.”

Shiro looked down. “I know,” He said softly.

Yoru bumped their shoulders. “You didn’t let me finish. Personally, though? I don’t think either of you could be as amazing as you are together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it and Happy Holidays to all the others! 
> 
> Have a picture from Fubuki and Yoru's day, going on a Christmas Hike out behind Yoru's place!  
> [](https://ibb.co/bHVmWPG)


	31. Chapter 30: Oh Fallen Star, How Thy Burn

Waiting for Chaos was reminding Yoru exactly why Chaos made him uneasy in the first place.  

Raimon and Teikoku’s teams were waiting at Teikoku’s soccer field, Raimon on the field and Teikoku in the stands. Outside, at some point, would be the doctor Dr. Agehira had called after Hitomiko told her the situation.

Yoru bounced his leg nervously from where he sat, the air around the field cold and oppressive as they all waited. Fubuki was beside him, silent as he slipped away back into the darkness plaguing him. Yoru hoped what he’d told him the night before had helped.

It was weird, knowing that he’d be playing in place of Ichinose. After so long of sitting on the sidelines for Raimon, the fact that he’d be taking Ichinose’s place for such an important match felt _wrong_ , especially since he knew nothing good could come of the switch. Not when Chaos was as toxic as they were.

A soccer ball descended from the sky, a plume of purple smoke exploding from it as it landed.

“They’re here,” Kidou breathed, and the air over the stadium changed once more.

Yoru tried to avoid looking right at Chaos as the smoke cleared, Burn and Gazel were cocky, determined to beat Raimon down once and for all, but Endou was just as determined to prove them wrong.

When the teams were on the field, Yoru tried to calm his nerves. He could do this. Nothing bad was going to happen in the middle of a match.

Reluctantly, Yoru activated his ability.

He had to stop himself from wincing as the purple of Aliea’s glow grew excruciatingly bright before doing the same thing it had last match, falling to gather at their feet. Yoru could almost feel the fog dancing around his ankles while it’s mere presence stung his eyes from this close, trying to drag him closer, pull him under.

He shuddered.

The game began, and Yoru shoved aside his worries in place of focusing on the match.

He caught the pass Gouenji made to him, kicking the ball to Touko seconds later. One of Chaos’ players ran towards Touko, suddenly picking up speed the closer he got to her.

The fog swirled to life, shifting and swelling like waves with the movements of the player, and Yoru was surprised to realize it moved almost as if it was telling the players where to go.

Before Yoru could warn Touko the player was close, the ball had already been stolen.

“Domon!” Kidou called, reminding the others that they were still in the middle of the match and couldn’t afford to be surprised for long.

The lanky boy quickly snapped out of his own shock, running for the player. “You’re not getting through!” He shouted, He paused, ready to stop the player from breaking through, but Chaos’ player continued without batting an eye, slipping past Domon with frightening ease.

‘What happened?’ Yoru questioned watching as the Chaos player breezed through Raimon’s defenses before passing to Gazel, who was even faster, ‘They aren’t that much more saturated than they were last time, yet they’re moving like Epsilon did after overdosing on the power.’

“This time I’ll show you how cold the freezing darkness can be!” Gazel leered, brining the ball into the air and using his Northern Impact hissatsu.

Yoru winced as it broke through Tachimukai’s Majin the Hand with ease, knocking the boy onto the ground.

“Tachimukai! Are you okay?!” Yoru called when Tachimukai didn’t get back up right away. They gathered around the goal as Tsunami and Endou helped him sit back up, relieved when he said he was okay and heart melting from the selflessness their new goalkeeper showed as he apologized for being unable to stop Gazel’s shoot.

“What’s important is that you’re okay!” Yoru said honestly. Endou nodded.

“Don’t worry,” Their captain reassured, “The match has only just started.”

“We’ll catch up to them before you know it.” Tsunami agreed confidently.

Tachimukai smiled, and the team quickly went back into game mode as the match resumed.

Endou passed the ball to Gouenji, who passed it to Aphrodi when members of Chaos started surrounding him. One of the players that must have originally been a part of Prominence ran forward, but just like the others around Aphrodi he was caught in the forward’s Heaven’s Time.

Yoru’s eyes widened when the Chaos Player unfroze. “Aphrodi!”

Aphrodi gasped as the player stole away the ball, frozen from the surprise. The Chaos player passed to his teammate, another Prominence player with a scar on his cheek, when Kidou stole the ball.

Kidou passed to Aphrodi, who used Heaven’s Time again. Yoru gritted his teeth as the same Chaos player as before once again broke through Heaven’s Time, stealing the ball.

Endou charged forward, but the player dodged him with ease as he passed to Burn, who was given a clear shot to the goal.

Burn’s toxic glow flared to life, moving with him in the same motions as the fire of his Atomic Flare hissatsu. Once again, Majin the hand was broken through.

Over and over, the results of this match were being made clear as Chaos breezed through Raimon’s defenses and attacks to give their strongest players the ball. They scored again and again, breaking through each attempt Tachimukai and the other defenders made to protect the goal.

Yoru had never seen such a one-sided match.

To make matters worse, Yoru was starting to hurt in too many places.  The headache that he’d come to expect with Aliea was steadily pounding away, his vision going in and out of focus even with his ability still going strong. His bad leg was thinking about protesting, dull pain forming at his ankle with each step, and his stomach was starting to ache where Watanabe had stomped not even a week before.

Burn was moving in for the kill, Tachimukai barely able to stay on his feet. Endou ran in front of the goal, letting out a roar as he used Megaton Head.

Yoru’s surprise at the sheer power of the defense move was cut short, replaced with concern as Endou was knocked back.

“Endou!”

Yoru and the others quickly ran over to the Endou and Tachimukai, watching as Endou slowly got back to his feet.

“I’m fine…” Endou grunted, hoping a hand to his head, “This… is nothing.”

“Be careful,” Yoru worriedly scolded, “Your head may be strong but those are incredibly powerful shoots! You’re only human, don’t overwork yourself.” He looked over to Tachimukai, “The same goes for you, too.”

“All right! We can’t lose either!” Tsunami cheered, doing his best to bring the motivation of the team back up. Yoru smiled, nodding, though he couldn’t quite get himself to believe they could really beat Chaos.

Still, Tsunami’s spirit and determination spread across the team like wildfire, spurring them on to protect the goal, and the lead Chaos stopped climbing.

“Yukimura!”

Yoru started dribbling the ball Endou passed him, rushing forward with Touko and Domon close behind.

“Ignite Steal!” Yoru tensed as the giant from Prominence's half of the team came sliding towards him, eyes following the distance between their feet with difficulty through the muddy fog of poison. His heart leapt into his throat as he realized the timing was different for this one, moving out of the way a second to late and the ball being stolen from him.

Yoru grit his teeth as this same scenario happened with the others, Chaos’ players using either Ignite Steal or Frozen Steal.

“Domon, move now, hurry!” Yoru shouted, hoping Domon would be able to move in time as the boy with navy hair slid into Frozen Steal. The warning had come too late, and the ball was stolen.

Endou quickly stole the ball back, but Chaos was just as quick to steal it again. Kidou tried to tackle the boy with the red and white headband, but the Chaos player leapt into the air with ease over him.

“Tch,” Yoru clicked his tongue as he chased after the boy, eyes constantly darting over Chaos’ players in an attempt to find something, anything to betray a weakness.

They couldn’t be pinned. Not this easily.

Once again Chaos took the ball almost immediately after Raimon got it,

It didn’t take much longer before a weakness showed itself.

The boy with the red and white headband blatantly ignored the navy-haired boy from Diamond Dust’s half in favor of passing to a Prominence teammate, who was quick to pass it back. The boy once again ignored a Diamond Dust teammate and Yoru was certain he was the weakness.

“Droll!” The big guy who had used Ignite Steal called, Yoru grinned as he saw his chance as the boy with the headband had the teammate pass to him, instead.

“Kidou,” Yoru began, glancing at the midfielder running beside him, “Do you--?”

“Yeah, I found it.” Raimon’s command tower smirked.

Yoru grinned, breathlessly chuckling. “Then I suppose I don’t have to tell you what to do next?”

“Nope!” Kidou ran forward, stealing the ball from Chaos.

Kidou, Domon, and Endou made their way up the field, using Death Zone 2 to score a goal. The fear in his chest eased slightly; maybe they could turn this around for sure.

When the game resumed after the goal, Burn breezed past Kidou and Endou, launching into another Atomic Flare shoot. Tsunami and Kabeyama ran to help protect the goal, but Tachimukai’s glow flared to life, something shifting and changing as it crawled up his arms to where a brilliant golden light was shining from his palms.

Many hands appeared around Tachimukai, all four of them slamming around the ball to stop it in its tracks. Yoru felt another grin spread across his face, letting out a whoop.

“All right!” He cheered, running over to Tachimukai once again with the others after the whistle for half-time blew. “That’s awesome, Tachimukai!”

Tachimukai grinned, laughing giddily. “Yeah!”

The group made their way off the field, and Yoru gladly thanked the girls when he was handed a towel and water bottle.

The dizziness that had started to accompany the headache eased slightly as he gulped down some water, but Yoru could feel pressure starting to build behind his eyes.

“Yukimura and I found their weakness.” Kidou explained after everyone had a chance to breathe.

“Really? What is it?”

“That one midfielder, the one with the red and white headband,” Yoru explained, tapping the side of his head, “He’s completely ignoring Diamond Dust’s half of the team.”

Kidou nodded, “He’s probably trying to show that they can win with just Prominence.”

“So with such a big lead, he’s getting greedy.” Natsumi finished, looking over to Chaos’ side of the field.

As Kidou continued to explain the opening to the rest of the team, Yoru took the chance to sit and close his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose like it’d help quell the pressure.

“You okay, Yukimura?” Fubuki asked worriedly, “You look really worn down already.”

“I’m okay,” Yoru reassured, sighing as he moved his hand back to his side and looked at Fubuki, His vision was blurred as he looked at his friend, and didn’t clear up again. Yoru felt his heart drop; he’d have to do the second half with completely blurry vision, then. “That toxic glow is just getting to me, I guess.”

Fubuki frowned. “Do you need to switch out? You don’t—”

Yoru quickly shook his head, smiling reassuringly. “No, no, it’s okay. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

\----

As the second half started, Yoru wondered if maybe he should have told Hitomiko to switch him out. He was quick to slip into openings that the one midfielder created, passing the ball to Aphrodi or Gouenji, but each new run had Yoru’s vision slipping further and further into the chance of failing entirely, pressure building behind his eyes.

Still, knowing Chaos’ weakness crushed the Aliea team’s pace, enough so that even Tsunami and Yoru himself were able to shoot a goal at least once with their hissatsus. Their score continued to climb as even Diamond Dust started to ignore the Prominence player who’d created their weakness, their teaming completely falling apart.

Endou blocked another attack with Megaton Head, the strength of this one launching it into the goal and giving Raimon their seventh point.

Suddenly Gazel and Burn were rushing forward side by side, the ball in constant motion between them as they blasted through all of Raimon’s players.

Yoru winced as they launched the ball into the air, their glows swelling to the point of looking like they were the sun. It caused a lance of pain to shoot up his eyes, sight blurring disastrously as he looked away. He pressed a hand to his temple, trying to relieve the pressure as he vaguely registered the sound of Chaos’s captains making a goal.

“Yukimura! Are you okay?” Yoru quickly looked up, eyes widening slightly.

“What? Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s keep going and get those four points!” Yoru pushed the team away from whether or not he was alright, glad to see he succeeded as Tsunami let out his own cheer of agreement that the others followed.

It didn’t take long for Chaos to repair their teamwork, their captains apparently having reminded them of what they were fighting for with this match. The weakness disappeared, replaced with a ferocity that made the fog rise to Yoru’s calves almost constantly, trying to suck Raimon in and parting like water for its owners.

Gazel and Burn leapt into the air, another strike of pain behind Yoru’s eyes as the headache worsened, though he was saved from the full effect as Tsunami leapt into the air and stole the ball, startling Chaos’ captain.

“Yukimura!”

Yoru caught the ball, not wasting a single moment as he turned and ran for Chaos’ goal. The defender who used Ignite Steal dropped down into a slide, smirking proudly like he knew he was going to catch Yoru off-guard once again.

Yoru smirked.

He slipped the toe of his shoe beneath the ball, carrying it on his foot as he spun on his good heel, perfectly avoiding the tackle.

Pain shot up through Yoru’s ankle as he landed his next step, his bad leg deciding it had finally reached its limit.

‘Damn it!’

“Gouenji!” Yoru shouted, kicking the ball to Gouenji and noticing too late that the blurry shape of the defender who constantly used Frozen Steal in the last game was in range.

Gouenji caught the ball, but before he could shoot the Diamond Dust defender used Frozen Steal, knocking the ball out of bounds.

“Gouenji!”

“I’m fine.” Gouenji said, wiping sweat from his chin.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice him until it was too late.” Yoru apologized quickly. He felt guilt and embarrassment settle in the pit of his stomach; out of every small detail he’d managed to notice, the one that was most obvious and that literally anyone with eyes would have seen, was the one he missed.

Gouenji was given the ball again as they continued, and while he managed to make it past Ignite Steal he was once again stopped by Frozen Steal, the two defenders finding a rhythm that barely let the opponent breathe.

“Looks like the match is set.” Gazel proclaimed, after the ball was knocked out of bounds.

“You can’t break the strongest double defense in the universe.” Burn agreed cockily. Yoru grit his teeth, holding back a growl. He looked to Gouenji and Endou.

 “Leave this to me.” Aphrodi insisted, coming to a stop beside Yoru. “I’ll break that defense.”

“B-Break it?! You can’t break those techniques easily.”

“I can break it, 100%.” Yoru told them. It’d be hard, with his eyes the way they were and the burning pain in his leg making itself known. “I just need to figure out their timing.” He glanced to Aphrodi, giving the long-haired boy an apologetic smile. “I know it’s not necessarily a glory worthy of a god, but would you mind helping me find it?”

Aphrodi returned the smiled with his own benign one. “Sounds like a plan.” To the others, he said, “Bring the ball to me.”

“Aphrodi, Yukimura….”

Yoru chuckled at Endou’s hesitance, smiling at their captain. “Ye of little faith, Endou! Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

“All right; everyone, bring the ball to Aphrodi!” Kidou commanded. Yoru glanced at the benches, eyes falling onto Fubuki when he felt eyes on him and Aphrodi.

His failing vision made it impossible to see what expression was on Fubuki’s face, but Yoru could feel that something had changed for the better.

The game resumed, Kidou quickly giving Aphrodi the ball. The striker ran forward, unafraid of the towering defense players as they closed in on him. Yoru focused on the scene, sharpening his senses and ability as much as he could.

His head protested violently, sending a shock of pain so strong Yoru had to squeeze his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them again, his vision struggled to refocus and Aphrodi was knocked back by Frozen Steal.

“Aphrodi!”

“Now, keep bringing the ball to me!”

‘Come on… please, don’t fail me now eyes.’ Yoru thought, biting his lip as Aphrodi made his way towards the defenders.

Each time Aphrodi tried to get through their double defense, Yoru’s frustration at his eyes grew. Aphrodi was getting tossed left a right with little care, and it would have ended already had Yoru’s eyes not been half-dead.

The fourth time Aphrodi was knocked back, Yoru saw it.

The smallest gap between the two steals, just big enough to escape Frozen Steal with.  “Aphrodi, that’s enough! Give me the ball!”

Thankfully Aphrodi had heard, passing Yoru the ball.

As soon as Yoru’s foot made contact with the ball, he summoned all his remaining strength to create a burst of speed.

He slipped past Ignite Steal the same way as before, spinning on his heel at the last second, only this time he barely touched the ground with his other foot’s toes before he was launching himself back into the air, flipping over Frozen Steal with ease. He could feel the surprise in the air as he landed, ignoring the sharp rocket of pain that shot its way up to his hip, threatening to take him down on his next step.

Before Yoru could shoot, though, a blinding flash filled the area, the shockwave of something slamming into the ground behind him startling Yoru enough that his bad leg buckled. He dropped to a knee with a grunt of pain, looking over his shoulder to see what just happened.

A black and white soccer ball floated just about the ground.

Looks like you’re all having fun.” Hiroto’s voice echoed through the stadium, causing all the players on the field to look up.

A blurry shape of Hiroto stood on the roof of the stadium, dressed in his Gran attire.

“Hiroto!”

“Hey, Endou.”

Yoru slowly lifted himself to his feet, panting softly as he tried to focus on the conversation past the throbbing pressure that refused to disappear from behind his eyes.

Yoru winced as the black and white soccer ball began to glow, deactivating his ability as quickly as he could but still nearly being blinded from the flash. He blinked the spots from his eyes, barely getting a chance to notice that Aliea was gone before his head felt like it was splitting open.

His hands flew to his face, the heels of his hands pressing into his eyes as a cry of pain slipped from Yoru’s lips. He collapsed to his knees, screwing his eyes tightly shut against the pain.

“Yukimura!”

Footsteps came rushing over, hands on his back and arms and—

_White hot pain radiated from his leg, dirt and grim sticking to his skin, hands on his legwhatareyoudoingletgoletgoLETGO—_

Something popped. Yoru could feel his body shaking as he bit back another scream, choked sobs leaving him as he dropped his head to the ground.

Liquid, sticky warmth Yoru knew all too well began to well along his eyelids, coating his hands and dripping down to his cheeks.

_A bloody moon wept in the sky._


	32. Chapter 31: What Would It Take?

What must have been nearly 10 hours later, Yoru was finally allowed into a room and _stay_ there.

From the moment he was brought to the hospital, Dr. Mineha had cleaned his eyes and face, given him all types of extensive eye exams, asked questions, given him certain scans to see if the rest of his head was okay or had caused the bleeding, done some sort of test to make triple sure he wasn’t about to go completely blind, and Yoru was, quite officially, _exhausted_.

The blackness in his vision had disappeared a while ago, but the spots and the fact Yoru couldn’t see more than just color at the current moment were frustrating on their own.

He also realized something rather humiliating as the day crept into night. He couldn’t see because of the eye shields Dr. Mineha insisted he wore for at least the next three days outside of the daily exams, which made fumbling around for any food or drink nearly as awful as when he couldn’t walk and had to have help each time he wanted to go to the bathroom back in Okinawa. It wasn’t as bad, of course, but the fact he needed help with such simple things because of the current eye shields made Yoru want to scream. Or, perhaps, die of embarrassment.

Probably both.

A knock on his door reverberated through the room; he looked over towards the door out of habit.

“Hey, I hear your eyes are giving you problems?”

Yoru gasped softly, a nervous smile stretching across his face. They still never really got past Yoru’s outburst a few weeks ago. “Someoka!”

“You and I are both out of commission then, huh?” The sound of a crutch tapping rhythmically on the floor and Someoka was soon sitting on one of the chairs beside Yoru’s bed.

“You’d think I’d be good at staying out of hospitals, but clearly, I just can’t take ‘Don’t do this’ as an answer.” Yoru laughed, letting his head fall back against the wall.

Someoka let out a gruff laugh, followed closely by silence. “Are you going to be okay?” He asked after a moment, earning a shrug.

“Most likely. It’s certainly a better expected outcome than with my leg.” Yoru hummed, tapping his fingers idly against the bed. “Back then, it was ‘I’m sorry, but you’ll never be able to walk again,’ to ‘You can’t walk without a crutch, which means no soccer at all,’ to ‘You can’t play soccer like you used to.’

“Here, it’s like ‘Eh, you have a chance of going permanently blind, not _totally_ out of the dark yet, but your eyes are healthy and the blackness in your vision has already cleared up, so you should be fine in a couple of weeks.’”

Someoka let out a hum; Yoru could picture him frowning. “How’s your leg healing up?” He asked curiously. Someoka let out a surprised sound, as if he didn’t expect Yoru to ask how his healing was going.

“Huh? Oh… it’s healing up pretty good. I’ll still be stuck here for a while- they don’t trust me to not play soccer if I leave and I can't stop using crutches yet.”

Yoru nodded. “The team misses you, you know.”

“I miss you guys, too. It’s nice when you come to visit, but it sucks being stuck here and unable to help.”

“I know the feeling.”

Someoka was quiet for a while longer. “Is Fubuki doing alright? When Gouenji came to visit, he didn’t really give me a straight answer.”

Yoru bit his lip, thinking about what to say, before sighing softly, “He’s had better days. His mind is a little bit of a mess right now.”

“He came to talk to me a couple days ago.” Someoka explained, voice unsure and filled with more worry than Yoru expected from his gruff voice. “He… kept mentioning something about needed to be perfect. Perfect this, perfect that… I didn’t know what to tell him.”

Yoru was quiet for a while, trying to figure out what to say. Someoka almost sounded like he was upset at himself for whatever he ended up saying to Fubuki.

He knew how that felt.

Sighing softly once again, Yoru bit his lip. “Well… It’s less about being _perfect_ and more about not being good enough.” He explained softly, not sure if he should mention the terror Fubuki was feeling over possibly losing a part of himself and falling silent for a while longer. He picked at the sheets on his hospital bed. “He’s just…. scared.”

Once again, the room fell silent, the air having become very melancholic. It was quickly making Yoru fidgety.

“Oh, right.” Someoka began suddenly, “Fubuki was here a couple of hours ago. Said he wanted to tell you something but wasn’t allowed to see you because of all that testing they were putting you through.”

Yoru’s heart dropped. “Aw, I missed him?” He whined, pouting, “I wanted to tell him that they said I’d be fine.”

“So how long are you going to be in here?” Someoka asked instead, quick to change the topic. Yoru laughed, ignoring the disheartened emptiness in his chest and instead thinking back to an hour prior.

“Oh man, a couple weeks, at least. They don’t trust _me_ , either.”

Yoru began counting on his fingers just how many of the doctors he had met in his life time called and gave their opinions on when he could leave to Dr. Mineha, “The doctor I met when we visited Yukoka Junior High called, said to keep me here until they were certain I was okay and not at risk of it happening again, the one I met with in Okinawa as well as my old doctor there said that the smart thing to do would be to keep me away from Aliea Academy matches, and my doctor from Hokkaido called about an hour ago and demanded they not let me out of the hospital until Aliea is finished ‘cause they’re the reason my eyes bled in the first place.”

“Seriously?” Yoru could hear the surprise in Someoka’s voice clear as day, and it was quickly followed by a laugh. “Wow, you really must have stepped on a lot of toes.”

Yoru nodded in agreement, grinning. He knew that the situation was bad and that he had definitely made quite a few people mad at him, but he couldn’t stop from feeling like he had one-upped them once again with what he was going to say next.

“They can’t really keep me here that long, though, unless we manage to beat Aliea within the next few weeks. They’re going to need this bed back eventually.”

Someoka probably nodded there, if the silence was any indication, but before either of them could say anything else, lightning flashed, thunder crashing outside the hospital. Yoru shot up, looking towards the window. “Oh no…”

Rain started to pitter-patter onto the surface, distant rolls of thunder echoing through the air. Yoru felt his heart get stuck in his throat, worry filling his chest in its place. “Fubuki…!”

“Is he not good with thunderstorms…?” Someoka asked, a frown in his voice. Yoru shook his head, dread filling his stomach as the rain seemed to get harder.

“Thunder sounds so similar to avalanches it only fuels his fear. I know it’s stupid of me to be this worried, but the last time he had to go through one alone was over a year ago.”

“…Will he be okay?”

Yoru gave his teammate a feeble shrug, unsure. Fubuki had grown a lot over the year he’d known him, but he was also in a far more vulnerable state now than he had been before. Yoru didn’t know what to think. “I don’t know… He still reacts to them badly when I’m there with him, and he’s in a worse mental state now than he’s been since I’ve known him.”

Someoka stood up, the tapping of his crutch signifying that he was walking. He came around the bed and to the window, probably looking outside. “I don’t think it’s a bad one. Looks like it’s almost over, already.”

A loud crack came at the same time as the lightning, making both boys jump from surprise. Someoka bumped against the bed from reeling back too far, a startled grunt escaping him.

“Okay, maybe not.” He sighed, walking back around the bed so he could sit down. “I hope he’s okay.”

Yoru nodded, sighing and pulling his legs up to his chest. He officially, 100%, completely, _hated_ this situation.

“Yeah, me too.”

After a few minutes of silence, Someoka hesitantly spoke up again.

“So, what’s up with you and Fubuki, exactly?”

Yoru looked up from the sheets, blinking at Someoka even though he couldn’t see it. “Huh?”

Someoka grumbled slightly, tapping his fingers against his crutch as he tried to piece the words together. “The way you look at each other…. It’s,” Someoka sighed, shifting around in his seat, “I don’t know. It’s like you guys have these special looks for each other.”

“…We do?”

Someoka let out a sound of agreement. “Yeah. Haven’t you noticed?”

Yoru laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, I’ve been a little too preoccupied worrying about the whole Atsuya/Shiro fight and Aliea’s affects on my eyes to actually pay attention to anything like that.”

“Mm… Well, I guess he never looked at you like that when you were looking.” Someoka admitted with a grumble, “But you look right at him when you do it…. You look at him like he’s the world.”

Yoru felt his cheeks flare with color, failing to get proper words out as he tried to think of what to say. “I-I _do_?!”

Someoka seemed to be startled, a laugh suddenly bursting from him a moment after the startled sound.

“You didn’t notice?!” He barked, laughing as if Yoru’s inability to notice his emotions being worn on sleeve. “Yukimura, for someone so attuned to his surroundings, you’re terrible at noticing what’s right in front of you.”

Yoru glowered, crossing his arms over his chest protectively. “If you’re trying to say that I don’t notice I’m crushing on my best friend, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“If you think that’s what I’m saying, then you really are dense. I’ve only seen you two interact for a handful of weeks at best.”

“You mean when he’s having an identity crisis and I’m an overprotective idiot who never says the right thing?”

“Someoka, Yukimura’s had a busy day and you both need rest; I think it’s time to do.” A nurse said kindly, footsteps coming to a stop at the doorway, “You can catch up some more tomorrow.”

“Coming!” Yoru listened as Someoka stood up, his crutch tapping on the ground. “Yukimura,” He paused, quiet as he chose his next words. “I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.”

Yoru’s heart lurched, silent as the sound of Someoka’s crutch faded into the distance.

Without any distractions, Yoru found the exhaustion creeping back into his skin and making his eyelids heavy. Rain continued to fall outside the window, lulling Yoru into sleep. He wished he could see it, or even better, be with Fubuki during the storm and do whatever his Prince—

Yoru’s thoughts short-circuited.

He shook his head.

 _His_ prince? Why had he called Fubuki _his_ prince?

Yoru’s stomach twisted, causing him to let out a whining-groan as he placed his head on his knees, cheeks burning. ‘I thought I had that under control.’ He thought to himself, hugging his knees to his chest. ‘Fubuki isn’t ‘mine’, just because I like him.’

He shifted so his chin was on his knees instead of his forehead, sighing. He’d done so well to shove his actual feelings away to the back of his mind, even if the physical reactions were still there so that Fubuki and he didn’t have another thing to deal with along with their demons. So why did they have to rear their head _now_?

Heavy footsteps, ghosting across the floor outside his room, a menacing feeling that Yoru recognized as sick and twisted. He shuddered, fear constricting his heart. The person’s aura was menacing and demanding, oppressive like—

Like Aliea.

Yoru sat up, looking towards the door and cursing that he couldn’t see even though the person there was long gone. Those weren’t the footsteps of a kid.

What did Aliea want at the hospital?

\-----

“You’re going to Mt. Fuji?”

“Yeah, I don’t know when we’ll be back; probably a few days, if not tonight or tomorrow.” Fubuki explained softly from his side of the conversation. Yoru nodded even though he couldn’t see it.

“I see. The final match is right around the corner, then… Sorry I can’t be there with you.”

“It’s okay.”

No, actually, it didn’t sound okay. Yoru was pretty sure Fubuki was feeling far from okay, after last night and the dejected tone Fubuki had answered the phone with only moments before.

“Just consider me there in spirit.” Yoru said with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m cheering for you guys from all the way back in this boring old hospital.” Fubuki chuckled; Yoru felt so much lighter.

“I really like hearing you laugh.” He whispered, not even registering he had said the words in a tone that was probably far too soft for it to be purely platonic. Fubuki was quiet for a moment more.

“Will I be able to see you when we get back?”

“Mhm!” Yoru smiled brightly, excited. “I still won’t be able to leave the hospital for at least another week, but I think I’ll be able to see you as clear as day the next time we see each other.”

Fubuki hummed in agreement, voice soft. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.”

“Of course I am! You know I don’t go down _that_ easily.” Yoru teased, laughing again. They fell into companionable silence, not having anything else to say. Yoru found himself picking at the hospital blanket’s edges again.

“…Hey, Yukimura?”

“Yeah?”

“When… When Atsuya and I figure things out…. There’s something we want to tell you.”

“Okay…. Take your time figuring things out, Fubuki. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’ll still go where I go?” Fubuki asked softly, sounding a little like a child, and Yoru chuckled, smiling brightly and heart heavy with warmth.

“I’ll _always_ go where you go, for as long as you want me to.”

\------

No matter what Yoru tried, he always found himself falling back onto what led him to sitting in a hospital.

Before, when he had been trapped in the hospital due to his leg, Yoru had killed his thoughts with reading, video games, or schoolwork. He’d hyper focus on something else, did anything he could to keep what happened at the stairs as far from the forefront of his mind.

Now though, he was temporarily blind to the world. He couldn’t read, play games—though this was mostly because his hand-held consoles were back in Hokkaido—or do school work. He was stuck sitting in bed, bored out of his mind and desperate to know just what was happening to Raimon, because of _course_ this match was the one Aliea refused to make public.

So instead Yoru was left with his thoughts. And, of course, they revolved around Fubuki.

They always revolved around Fubuki.

Usually, it was incredibly easy to keep the feelings he held for Hakuren’s Prince out of mind; no matter what, friends or otherwise, Fubuki was amazing—though really, anyone with eyes could see that.

It felt like he’d been slipping, lately. While he’d never cared if his heart skipped a beat at a smile, or if his expression had melted when Fubuki wasn’t looking, hearing that he’d done it while meeting Fubuki’s eyes made Yoru’s skin crawl. He didn’t want Fubuki to feel he was pitying him in some way. Or that his feelings were stemming from the current situation at all, really.

More than anything, Yoru just wanted Fubuki to be happy; wanted to be there for him through all the good and bad times. Fubuki was precious to Yoru and seeing him in pain hurt more than anything in the world. He thought he _was_ happy, before the demons attacked and leeched themselves into Fubuki’s heart.

‘ _The only thing we both like is soccer.’_

Maybe he had been wrong.

‘It doesn’t matter now, anyway,’ He told himself, ignoring how his heart ached at the thought. ‘You don’t even play the part of a friend right.’

\----

“Oh, master rank teams weren’t exposed to it?” Yoru repeated, shocked. Kidou let out a soft grunt of confirmation from Raimon’s side of the call, and Yoru placed a finger to his chin in contemplation. “Huh. Guess they must have been saturated in it due to exposure, even if they hadn’t been doused in it themselves.”

“What do you mean?” Kidou asked curiously as the others let out confused sounds. Yoru tapped his fingers against the mattress.

“Well… It was there around the master rank teams. Twice as strong as Epsilon’s when it physically manifested, but when I used my ability it just… fell. Turned into a fog at their feet like it was pouring out of them: this was, of course, rather confusing because my eyes don’t lie, and clearly they were stronger than Epsilon, so why did it act so different?” Out of habit, Yoru tapped by his eye, feeling metal and medical tape beneath his finger.

“However, it’s very possible that instead of having been exposed to the meteorite’s power _directly_ , it could have been because they were exposed on a larger scale to Gemini Storm and Epsilon.”

“By that logic, we should have been exposed, too…”

Yoru shook his head. “No, we wouldn’t. The master rank teams were exposed to it when they were training, which means from before any of us met them, to right before the very last battle. They got stronger as they trained against people exposed to the meteorites as well as being in near-constant range of its effects, which means—even if they hadn’t realized it— that some of that power would transfer to them, or at the very least, cover them like a blanket.”

Kidou was quiet for a while, contemplating. “Yes… that does make sense, I suppose.”

“Really? I don’t think I get it…” Tsunami groaned, befuddled. Yoru chuckled, knowing he was probably scratching the back of his head like he usually did when he wasn’t quite sure he understood something.

“Hm… I guess it’s kind of like surfwax? Aliea’s meteorite was a coating for the master rank teams; it made their abilities stronger, like how surf wax helps you stick to the board. Only the master rank teams were in either too hot water, or too cold, and the grip wasn’t quiet there.”

“Oh!” Tsunami’s voice brightened considerably. “That makes sense!”

“It does?” Yoru asked, relieved, “Thank goodness. I wasn’t sure if it was a good comparison ‘cause it’s been so long since I last even tried to surf.”

“You surfed?!”

Tsunami and Yoru laughed at the stunned shouts of the rest of the team; Yoru could imagine the varying levels of shock on their faces, too.

“How do you think Tsunami and I became friends?” Yoru asked, chuckling, though he was quick to change the topic away from him. “But that’s not what’s important! What’s important is that you guys did awesome! Tell me _every_ detail, you hear me?”

\----

The third day since being admitted to the hospital and the day Raimon came back from their trip to Mount Fuji was a dreary one. The sky was dark grey, threatening rain as fogs covered the city like a blanket.

Yoru tilted his head back down, letting out a disgruntled groan as he kept his eyes closed.

“It’s your own fault you have to do this, Yukimura.” Dr. Mineha scolded lightly beside Yoru, leg crossed over his lap as he waited for the eyedrops to absorb. “If you weren’t so reckless, then your eyes wouldn’t have bled.”

“I know,” Yoru whined, flopping back into the pillows. He slowly opened his eye again, blinking a couple times as he took in the blurry images around him. “But it was important.”

“I know. I was watching the match as well,” Dr. Mineha carefully took off the other eye shield as he spoke, so Yoru opened his other eye as he tilted his head back again. Dr. Mineha carefully pulled Yoru’s lower eyelid down, adding a few drops. “If you behave, you don’t have to have me do this for you every time. I could leave you be and treat this as if you were home.”

“Don’t I only have to stay and do these things for a couple more days? When would you even have the time to figure out if I was ‘reliable’ or not?”

“Well—”

Commotion started down the halls, the sound of panicked murmurs slipping through. A nurse came running to the door, panting. “Dr. Mineha! Yukimura!”

“What is it?”

“You’ll want to see this.”

Dr. Mineha and Yoru met each other’s gaze. Dr. Mineha nodded, quickly putting clear eye shields on over Yoru’s eyes before leading him out of the room. Down the hall was a waiting room, a tv settled against one of the walls. A group of people— patients, visitors, and workers alike— crowded around the it.

“Oh my—is that Someoka?! We only released him yesterday!” Dr. Mineha gasped.

“Aren’t some of those kids from Raimon? Why are they fighting against them?”

“What?!” Yoru gasped, eyes widening at the blurry image of the original members of Raimon Eleven. Sure enough, three of them looked like Kazemaru, Kurimatsu, and Someoka. He gasped as he realized just what had happened.

“… The meteorite.” He mumbled, recalling the conversation he’d had with Raimon the night before. “Dr. Mineha, Someoka was released yesterday?”

“Yes, he’d shown considerable improvement and you said Aliea was almost finished, so we thought—”

“Did you see a strange man in the hospital the night before? Someone that asked for Someoka’s room number, or just looked like he might be up to no good?”

The nurses and doctors in the area shook their heads. Yoru grit his teeth, frustration welling in his chest. The owner of the footsteps had to be from Aliea— it was the only way to explain how Someoka could have gotten a piece of the meteorite.

“It looks like Gouenji is ready to aim for the goal!” The commentator exclaimed, making Yoru’s attention turn back to the screen. Kidou’s blurry form passed it to Gouenji, but one of the Dark Emperor players stole the ball before it made it to the striker.

Yoru turned to face Dr. Mineha again as the match continued. “Dr. Mineha, I have a request.”

“I’m not taking you down there, Yukimura.”

“Why not?!” Yoru snapped, turning to face the doctor completely. “The meteorite is covered by their clothes! When True Teikoku had them, I wasn’t even affected unless I used by ability!”

“As your current doctor I cannot allow you to risk making your condition worse by—”

“I don’t care!” Yoru growled, “They’re my friends!”

“Then have faith in them.” Dr. Mineha asserted, causing Yoru’s words to die on his tongue. “I understand how you feel, but you have people on that team waiting for you to get better. How do you think they’d feel if you hurt yourself more over this?”

Yoru looked back at the screen, throat tightening as he watched Raimon fight. “They’d hate it.” He whispered. A hand was placed on his shoulder as Dr. Mineha smiled at him.

“Then have faith in them. They’ll hear you from here; here all of us from here, even. All we have to do is believe they can win.”

Yoru nodded numbly, frustration still in his chest. He so badly wanted to be there, where he _knew_ the others could hear him. It felt wrong to stay here when the school wasn’t even that far away.

Tachimukai, Tsunami, and Kogure were thrown into the net along with the ball powered by Shadow’s Dark Tornado.

The Dark Emperors had the leading point.


	33. Chapter 32: Colours of Autumn

“The Dark Emperors’ attack won’t stop!” The commentator exclaimed, “What will you do, Raimon?”

Yoru watched with bated breath as Endou ran to block Kazemaru only for him to slip right past. Kazemaru passed to Someoka, and Yoru watched as one of Raimon’s players zipped back toward defense.

His heart leapt into his throat, feeling like he might start crying as he realized exactly who that was even before the commentator said the name. “Fubuki…!”

A hand flew to Yoru’s mouth as Fubuki clashed with Someoka as he tried to shoot, not sure if he should be scared or so, so grateful that Fubuki was back and better than ever.

His choice was made as a blinding purple suddenly flared to life around Someoka, sending Fubuki flying while the super-charged Wyvern Crash made a goal. “No!”

The hand on his shoulder tightened, grounding Yoru and reminding him that he had to trust in his teammates. They’ve faced far worse; they’d be okay. They’d prevail over this.

“The Raimon Eleven are behind by two points in the first half! When will they’re counterattack begin?!”

Kazemaru once again had the ball, phasing through Endou’s defense and passing it to the player with the stripped cat-eared hat. Another player joined the hat-wearer, using a shoot that knocked Tachimukai back.  Before a goal could be made Endou jumped in, hitting the ball away with his head.

“A near escape! Endou clears it; he stops the Dark Emperors from getting another point!”

Endou checked on Tachimukai, who was probably having the worst luck right now. Yoru could only imagine how his hands were feeling after having dealt with Genesis’ shoots not even a full day before.

“The Dark Emperors’ fearsome power and speed are leaving the Raimon Eleven stranded! The painful battle continues!”

Yoru bit his lower lip, watching as Kidou passed the ball to Endou. Endou caught it, facing off once again with Kazemaru. Kazemaru stole the ball from Endou with Clone Defense, and before anything else could happen, the whistle blew.

The first half was over.

“The first half ends! The Raimon Eleven have allowed the Dark Emperors a 2-point lead! Will they be able to rally in the second half?!”

Yoru felt far too tense as he watched the players rest, wishing he was there to offer any sort of insight or support to the group. The Dark Emperors knew exactly how Raimon moved, and that gave them an advantage that hurt to watch.

As Yoru watched the blurry players on the screen, he realized something: Hitomiko wasn’t there.

“…Who’s that with Raimon in place of Hitomiko?” He asked Dr. Mineha, not even sure if he’d know the answer.

Dr. Mineha hummed, “That looks to be Raimon’s original coach. Don’t remember his name though.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ Hibiki,” Yoru hummed thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wish I could see him as more than a blurry bit of color.”

“You’ll be able to soon enough, don’t worry.”

It felt like forever before the second half started, but when it did, Yoru was happy to see Raimon even more determined now that they’d figured out a plan.

Kazemaru stole the ball, but this time Endou was on top of him. Endou moved exactly the way Kazemaru did, determined not to let him get past. Kazemaru grew visibly agitated, getting angry enough he kicked the ball right into Endou’s stomach. Many others watching the match along with Yoru and Dr. Mineha gasped, stunned by the harshness Kazemaru now showed his Captain.

“Tsunami!” Yoru gasped, watching in horror as Kazemaru elbowed the defender in the face.

Gone were the gentle turquoise, blues, and greens. Even without using his ability Yoru knew: Kazemaru had been taken under by the meteorite’s power, the calm glow now pure toxic purple. Even Aliea hadn’t been this corrupted by the power, for they had known their friends and done what they had all for their father, instead of their hunger for power.

Touko, Tsunami, and Kogure were quick to use Perfect Tower, stealing the ball back from Kazemaru. The teams split apart on the field, Touko passing the ball to Tsunami.

Yoru smiled as Tsunami used his “Tsunami Boost” and Fubuki swiftly caught the ball after it was knocked away by the goalie, moving in to shoot.

His jaw dropped when Fubuki used a new hissatsu shoot he’d never seen before, his breath stolen away with the Wolf that helped formed with the ball. This was their answer, then? Their answer to being “perfect”?

It was amazing, and Yoru hadn’t even seen the full effects of their answer yet.

Raimon took back a point.

Knowing their new rhythm, it wasn’t long before Fubuki and Gouenji were given the ball again, using another new hissatsu technique. Yoru felt giddy at the sight; Fubuki and Gouenji meshed will with each other, the warm fire of a phoenix and the chill of a blizzard. Once again Raimon scored, and it took everything Yoru had not to start audibly cheering.

The Dark Emperors attacked, the meteorite shining on their chests. Kazemaru stole the ball from Endou, his anger seeming to grow. Yoru and the others in the room watched silently as Kazemaru, Someoka, and cat-eared hat wearer shot Dark Phoenix, the hissatsu nearly as toxic a purple as the meteorite’s glow.

The shoot knocked Tachimukai away, still a violent purple as it slammed into the back of the net.

“The Dark Emperors’ begin their counter attack!” The commentator shouted. Yoru watched as Kurimatsu, someone Yoru didn’t know, and Kazemaru used Triple Boost before getting blocked by Domon and Kidou.

The ball was knocked out of bounds, but it wasn’t without consequence. Kidou and Domon dropped to a knee, exhaustion and the Aliea meteorite’s terrible enhancements on the Dark Emperors wearing them down.

Yoru and the group of people watching the game all stared in grim horror as Dark Emperors beat down Raimon again and again, each attack taking down another member of the team.

Yoru so badly wanted to be there, to take over for someone, anyone, and ease the burden even a little. Everyone was giving their all, and he was trapped here.

It seemed Rika felt the same, running towards the pitch before Ichinose apparently told her not to. He slowly got to his feet, like many others have already done, telling her to stay put. Yoru’s heart pounded in his chest, fear for his teammates hitting him full force as the two Dark Emperors players used Revolution V and sent Endou crashing down next.

The only one left standing to defend against the oncoming Dark Phoenix was Tachimukai.

It was difficult to see beneath the vibrant glow of Mugen the Hand, but Yoru noticed Endou getting behind Tachimukai, holding onto his junior’s shoulders in an attempt to help prevent the ball from making it in.

“They blocked it!” The commentator screamed as the ball bounced off the top of the goalpost and out of bounds, “Tachimukai and Endou make a desperate save for the goal!”

Yoru bit his lip, watching as Endou pulled Tachimukai’s gloves off his hand. He could only imagine how bruised and bloody they could be.

“Has Tachimukai been injured? This is a very bad situation for the Raimon Eleven!”

Endou replaced Tachimukai as goalkeeper, the last member of Raimon Eleven still able to stand on the field. Kazemaru was given the ball and he shot for the goal, a simple kick that whistled like a missile. Endou fell back as he caught Kazemaru’s shoot, his wince clear even from the blurry distance on the tv.

Still, he stood up.

Endou gave Kazemaru the ball, challenging him.

Yoru’s heart jumped with fear as Kazemaru shot the ball with everything he had and Endou used God Hand instead of one of the techniques he’d been using for months now. Endou caught the ball, drooping slightly and shoulders heaving as he tiredly threw the ball back to Kazemaru.

The ball rolled to a stop at Kazemaru’s feet; Dark Emperor’s used triple shoot and once again Endou used God Hand.

Yoru’s hand covered his mouth, able to feel Endou’s desperation even through the screen. Many others in the room were the same, frozen and so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Endou stopped the ball. He collapsed.

No one was left.

Raimon could no longer stand.

“Stand up, everyone!” Natsumi cried from the sidelines, “Stand up!”

“Raimon! Raimon! Raimon!” Yoru’s eyes widened as Aki’s cheer echoed over the field, quickly being joined by the others on the sidelines.

“Raimon! Raimon! Raimon!” Even if they couldn’t hear, Yoru found himself cheering with. He couldn’t stop himself from calling out Raimon’s name, hoping beyond hope that _somehow,_ they’d be able to hear it.

“Raimon! Raimon! Raimon!” Dr. Mineha’s voice soon joined Yoru’s, followed closely by the others in the room. Throughout the floor you could hear the same cheer, everyone putting their hearts into the single word.

Fubuki was the first to struggle to his feet, causing Yoru’s cheer to get even louder. The others were quick to follow, calling out Endou’s name.

Yoru let out a happy gasp as Endou climbed back to his feet, unsteady and nearly falling back over as he threw the ball back into play. Kazemaru let out a guttural scream, crossed between a cry of anguish and frustration. Dark Phoenix came into being once again with his cry.

Endou once again used God Hand, the golden hand shining brilliantly with the force of Endou’s passion and determination.

The two hissatsus collided with a flash, and as the light faded away, the room once again held its breath.

Endou caught the ball.

Yoru’s eyes widened as Endou held up the ball and it continued to shine, the color a pleasant healing green like how Kazemaru’s glow should have been.

The purple glows that shone beneath the Dark Emperors clothes vanished.

Yoru couldn’t stop a sharp laugh from escaping him as the sun began to shine from behind the clouds, stifling the sound with a hand. Now that he had started to laugh, though, he found he couldn’t stop, relief coursing through him and tears pricking the edges of his eyes as he threw his head back. “Of course, the sun would shine now; it wouldn’t be a match with Raimon if something amazing didn’t happen!”

Dr. Mineha chuckled, ruffling Yoru’s hair. “Isn’t it great? You are your friends don’t have to fight anymore.”

“Mm!” Yoru agreed, grinning at the man wide enough his cheeks hurt.

\----

“Alright, Yukimura, I’d say you're ready to see the world without eye masks on!”

Yoru let out a loud groan of relief, nearly throwing his hands in the air from joy. “FINALLY!”

Dr. Mineha laughed, a small scolding in his voice as he said, “Who’s fault is it you’re like this again?”

Yoru blushed darkly from embarrassment, huffing as he leaned against the pillows and crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, whatever.”

He pouted as a small chuckle followed his words, heart fluttering as Fubuki’s actual, happy laugh filled the air. He hadn’t heard him laugh so happily in a long time.

…He’d missed it. Really, truly, missed it.

“I need you to close your eyes, then when the eye masks are gone—”

“Slowly open them, I know. We’ve done this like fifty times already.” Yoru fought the urge to roll his eyes, knowing Dr. Mineha was just doing his job, but he’d reached the end of his patience as soon as Raimon had defeated the Dark Emperors and Dr. Mineha had replaced the clear eye shields with opaque ones.

He wanted to see it, Fubuki’s transformation.

It was obvious how much Atsuya and Shiro’s coexistence changed Fubuki by voice alone; gone was Atsuya’s constant cocky and rough growl, or Shirou’s shy and uncertain timbre. What was in its place was a gentle confidence and kindness that made Yoru’s heart melt. There was no more fear, no more ferociousness.

Yoru was nearly vibrating in his seat as Dr. Mineha removed the tape and eye masks, barely able to stop himself from opening his eyes then and there. In his head he counted to five, and then he slowly opened them.

He’d activated his ability: Fubuki’s glow too tantalizing to ignore, and Fubuki’s glow was…

“…. Wow.”

Gone were the cracks and gap between blues and reds, mended by shifting strands of royal purple and the mixing swirls of the blue and red, moving together as one. A burning fire that danced around Fubuki like they were giving him gentle kisses across his skin, the black pressed against his skin the protection of a blanket.

Never had Yoru seen something so enchanting.

Atsuya was a raging blizzard; beautiful, cold, and deadly as he hid himself and his brother away from harm. A protective wall of snow that could shut you out completely if you weren’t careful.

Shiro was the freshly fallen snow; untouched and pure. Quiet and special in that gentle kind of way, graceful as the stray snowflakes dance in the wind. He was the calm after the storm, something that took your breath away front the sweet prettiness of it all.

Together, when they created Fubuki Shirou, they were the snowfall; intense and magical, a force of nature to be reckoned with that was as gentle as it was powerful. They were unstoppable.

“…I think you broke him.”

Dr. Mineha’s tease snapped Yoru out of his thoughts, deactivating his ability with a blink as he choked.

“W-What?! I’m fine!” Yoru croaked, face so hot he was getting lightheaded and unaware that Fubuki was just as red beside him. “You’re a doctor, don’t tease!”

Dr. Mineha laughed, patting Yoru on the head and smiling knowingly. “Sure, sure, whatever you say. Now I just have to do one last check and you’ll be free to go!”

“Is there anything he needs to do back in Hokkaido?” Fubuki asked, and _oh boy_ , the confidence in his voice was even more amazing when paired with the new way he held himself.

His heart was pounding in his chest, overwhelmed by the new boy that was in front of him and making it impossible to ignore the truth.

Yoru was a goner.

\----

“Do you want to come to Steel Tower with me?”

Yoru hummed thoughtfully at the offer, shaking his head a moment later. “Oh, no, that’s alright. You want to talk to Endou, right? You’re a lot closer to him than I am.”

“Yeah, but you should still come! It’d be nice to talk to him once before we leave tomorrow, don’t you think?”

Yoru smiled, putting his hands behind his head as he responded, “I guess…. You really think I should come?”

“Of course!”

Yoru chuckled at the conviction in Fubuki’s voice, sighing as he looked back at the sky. It was nice to see the sunset again after two weeks of darkness— even nicer to be able to talk and laugh with Fubuki again like old times. “Then there’s the answer.”

As they made their way to Steel Tower plaza, it was easy to hear that Endou was indeed there already. The resounding hit of a fist against tire and shout echoed through the air as Fubuki and Yoru climbed up the steps, getting louder with each one.

“Captain!” Fubuki called when they reached the top of the steps. Endou looked over at the two; Yoru waved.

“Oh, Fubuki! Yukimura!” Yoru winced as the tire he’d swung moments before slammed right back into Endou, knocking him to the ground.

“Endou!”

“Captain!”

Yoru and Fubuki ran over to Endou, helping him stand back up.

“Ow, ow, ow…” Endou groaned, gingerly rubbing the back of his head.

“Are you okay?” Fubuki asked gently, a small laugh in his voice.

Endou laughed, looking over at the two. “It’s only the usual.”

“That’s good,” Yoru chuckled, leaning against the railing in front of the bench Endou sat on.

Fubuki nodded in agreement, looking out at the sunset. “This sure is a nice spot.”

“Oh, right. This is your first time coming here, isn’t in?” Endou said, removing his hand from his head and placing it on the soccer ball in his lap.

Yoru and Fubuki nodded.

“I wanted to see it before we leave,” Fubuki explained, sitting down on the bench beside Endou.

“Leave… Oh, yeah. You’re going back tomorrow.” Endou looked away, voice bittersweet.

Fubuki nodded, grinning as he looked at Endou, “That’s why I wanted to spend my time talking with you, Captain.”

Yoru nodded in agreement, smiling. Endou leaned back, looking up at the sky with a small sigh.

“Hokkaido, eh? That’s pretty far away.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yeah, you can come and hang out with us anytime.” Yoru added with a small laugh.

“Okay!” Endou cheered, grinning as he leaned forward and looked at the two. “Then why don’t I go in the Inazuma Caravan?”

“To fight aliens, right?” Fubuki teased, smiling brightly as he leaned closer to Endou.

“Again?” Endou half joked, half whined as he smiled.

Yoru watched the two fondly as they let out hearty laughs, a small chuckle leaving his own lips.

Their jest made Yoru start to wonder: What would have happened if Raimon hadn’t come to Hokkaido?

Well, Fubuki wouldn’t be the way he was now, that’s for sure. Atsuya and Shiro would still be fighting, at least enough that they couldn’t really be considered to “coexist”.

Atsuya and Shiro’s shaky alliance before this brought up another point: Someday, the same problem of “perfection” would have come up. Epsilon wouldn’t have been the cause, of course, but someone would have been able to beat Fubuki. Without Raimon, would Fubuki still be suffering? Would Atsuya take over completely?

Yoru shook his head ever so slightly, banishing the thought. What mattered was that Fubuki _had_ figured things out. Atsuya and Shiro had found their perfect balance and accepted each other to become Fubuki Shirou.

“What are you thinking about, Yukimura?”

Yoru looked up at the question, smiling as the two. “Oh, nothing,” He dismissed with a small laugh, looking over his shoulder and at the sunset. “Just thinking about how lucky fate brought us all together, I guess.”

Endou nodded, “Yeah! Thanks to your guys’ words, we got so much faster!”

Yoru chuckled, grinning, “That training was pretty fun to watch!”

“We’d finally beaten Gemini Storm with your help, too!” Endou continued, “Remember how excited we all were? We were so happy to have found such amazing teammates.”

Fubuki nodded, smiling a little sadly. “That was when it turned into an indefinitely long fight…”

“Yeah, but we got so many reliable players and friends after that!” Endou chirped, never one to only focus on the bad. The group was quiet as they thought about what had happened along their journey, and Yoru was once again thinking about what could have happened if they hadn’t met Raimon.

It was strange, thinking about how one simple request brought about a chain reaction that, while hurting the players in terrible ways, ultimately led to all of them growing and becoming better. A bittersweet smile formed on Yoru’s lips.

Yeah. Even Yoru had done things he had never thought to do thanks to Raimon.

Fubuki’s voice brought them out of their musings, soft and gentle as the wind. “If it weren’t for you guys, Atsuya and I would still be fighting.”

Yoru nodded in agreement, crossing an arm over his chest to hug himself  as he said, “And I would still be avoiding my friends in Okinawa like the plague.”

“Yeah. The rumors of the Flame Striker in Okinawa being Gouenji brought a lot of hope to everyone back then.” Fubuki agreed, “Even if it was a rough start.”

Something caught the corner of Yoru’s eye, causing him to lean forward to see the steps. He grinned. “Oh, Gouenji!”

Endou and Fubuki stood up as Gouenji walked over, smiling.

“I knew you’d be here.”

Yoru grinned, chuckling. “Perfect timing!”

“Fubuki and Yukimura are going back to Hokkaido tomorrow!” Endou explained, “So we got to talking a bit.”

Gouenji hummed, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “I see. Tomorrow, huh?”

Fubuki nodded, the trio watching as Gouenji walked to the railing and placed his hand on the post beside Yoru. “Good place, isn’t it?” Gouenji asked, a hand on his hip as he looked out at the sunset.

Yoru nodded in agreement, turning to look out at the sunset as Fubuki said, “IT really does have a nice view.”

Gouenji looked back at the group. “This is where Endou’s hissatsu techniques were born.” He said, motioning to the tire Endou had gotten smacked in the face with about ten minutes prior.

“From this tire?” Fubuki asked, walking over to it with the rest of the group not far behind. Endou smacked the side of it, saying that the tire was also his friend.

“I’ve been with this guy a lot longer than any of you three.”

“Friend, huh?” Fubuki hummed, placing his hands on his hips and looking at the tire a bit more closely. Yoru chuckled as Fubuki hit the side of it twice, telling the tire to “take care of Endou from now on, too.”

“We were actually just talking about you.” Endou explained, looking at Gouenji.

Gouenji turned to him, confused. “Me?”

“The story of the flame striker.” Fubuki explained, causing Gouenji’s surprised expression to become a small smile.

One again the group began to reminisce; throwing comments here and there whenever they reached a pivotal point in their memories.

Yoru stayed silent as the other three shared moments of the memories from Okinawa, his own filled with Watanabe’s reappearance and torment even if had been brief.

“Yukimura getting hurt was a scary blow, too.”

Yoru blinked, lifting his gaze to meet the others concerned looks. “It—It was?”

Fubuki nodded solemnly. “You started screaming when we touched you, and you elbowed Dr. Mineha in the chest when he tried to get you to stop covering your eyes.”

“It made us realize we were putting too much pressure on you to be our eyes off the field.”

Yoru’s face turned bright red as the others let out small sounds of agreement, looking away and clearing his throat. “I, uh, I don’t actually remember that. But let’s move on!! The next day you guys headed out for Aliea Academy, right? For the fiercest fight yet.”

“Seeing everyone fight desperately was what pushed me back towards the battlefield.” Fubuki agreed, “But because I was obsessed over the word “perfect”…”

Yoru hummed softly, thinking of how Fubuki’s fears must have started rearing their head again during the fight. As he thought about what he was told in their recap of the events, Yoru let out a small laugh before looking at Gouenji. “I still can’t believe you kicked the ball as hard as you could at Fubuki.”

Gouenji shrugged, leaning against the railing near Yoru. “I don’t appreciate plays with no motivation.”

Fubuki chuckled, smiling sweetly at the two. “It was the kick I needed. Without it, I never would have been pulled from the darkness.”

Yoru made a small sound of agreement, looking away. Fubuki’s words left him feeling bittersweet; someday the ache that he wasn’t able to help Fubuki the way the Snow Prince had helped him would fade, but today it still hurt.

“It was a long battle and we had a lot of trying times, but I can say now that it was a good journey. The many people we met along the way helped us to become stronger.” Endou observed, eyes serious as he looked at the soccer ball that had once again made its way into his hands. His usual cheerfulness was quick to return as he looked at the Flame Striker. “Right, Gouenji?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad I got to meet you guys, too.” Fubuki stood up, turning to fully face Gouenji as he addressed the taller boy. “Even though you’re not perfect, you still enjoy soccer. If you hadn’t told me that,” Fubuki looked down at the ground, a small smile on his face, “I don’t think I would have been able to take back my true self.”

“No, you were able to do it because you wanted it to be true for you” Gouenji explained, smiling gently at Fubuki. “Yukimura, the other, and I only lent you a hand.”

Yoru’s eyes widened slightly at Gouenji’s clear addition of his name, looking away from the trio shyly a moment later.

Fubuki giggled, placing a hand on Yoru’s shoulder as he looked back at Endou and Gouenji. “I’m glad that I play soccer!”

‘That’s right,’ Yoru thought, smiling at Fubuki. He took in the subtle changes in Fubuki’s appearance, the happy gleam in his eyes. ‘That’s always been the most important thing, hasn’t it? Without soccer, none of us…’

Yoru laughed, eyes meeting with Fubuki’s for a moment before he looked at the others and pushed off from the rail. “Me too!”

“We’ll meet each other again someday, right?” Fubuki asked, looking at Endou and Gouenji.

Endou leapt to his feet, shouting, “Of course!”

Gouenji straightened, smiling. “We should have a match with Raimon versus Hakuren next time.”

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Fubuki readily agreed, looking more excited than Yoru had seen in a long while.

Endou grinned, holding out the soccer ball. “Then it’s a promise!”

Yoru and Fubuki exchanged a glance before Fubuki grinned, placing his hand on the ball. Yoru smiled, rolling his eyes as he placed his hand over Fubuki’s. Gouenji and Endou placed their hands on top of theirs.

“One day, let’s all…”

“Play soccer!” They all promised together, grinning at each other.


	34. Chapter 33: Quiet as the Snow

Yoru looked around the airport, keeping an eye out for any sign of his family.

“Ah!!! Uncle Yoru!!! Fubuki!!”

Yoru perked up, looking around for the familiar voice. He grinned when he finally spotted Hyouga, sitting high on Natsume’s shoulders and waving frantically. He’d grown quite a bit in the time they’d been gone.

Yoru tapped Fubuki’s shoulder, pointing him towards the awaiting trio.

“Hyouga! Natsume! Haruka!” Yoru called, waving at the trio before running over with Fubuki at his side.

“There are our little alien fighters!” Haruka cheered, grabbing Yoru and Fubuki in a tight hug. “Oh, look at you two! You’ve changed so much in the past two months.”

“Right, right? Fubuki’s grown the most!” Yoru chirped, laughing as Natsume ruffled his hair.

“You’ve grown too, Yoru!” His brother stated with a grin. “Although that stunt you pulled against Chaos was _not_ appreciated.”

Yoru flushed, smile slipping as he laughed nervously. “Sorry, Natsume…”

“Papa!! Put me down!” Hyouga whined, tapping Natsume on the head. Natsume laughed, crouching down and setting Hyouga on the ground. Hyouga immediately ran to Fubuki, hugging his legs tightly. “Fubuki, You were amazing!”

Yoru squawked, feigning hurt. “What, no hug for me?!”

Hyouga pouted, puffing out his cheeks and shaking his head. “No hug for uncle! You did a bad!”

Yoru sweat-dropped, actually feeling a pang in his heart as shoulders slumping while the other three laughed. “Ah… That’s fair, I guess.”

“Aw, it’s okay sweetie.” Haruka reassured, patting Yoru’s shoulder. “We’ve got a nice little gathering ready for you two.”

“Really?” Fubuki asked, blinking in surprise. Natsume and Haruka grinned, giving each other a look. Yoru and Fubuki exchanged their own glance.

They were up to something.

Natsume was quick to steal away Yoru and Fubuki’s bags, already starting to walk away from the group and towards the exit.

“Welcome back!”

Yoru and Fubuki stared at the front of Yoru’s house, taking in the scene before them. Hakuren’s soccer team stood there with Yoru’s parents and some of the orphanage’s runners (the ones Fubuki was closest to), holding up a welcome back sign.

“I thought you said it was small?”

\-----

Crickets chirped in the air, filling the night with sound while the rest of the world slept. Wind swept through the forest, stirring the freshly fallen snow. The Yukimura family finally drifted off to sleep, exhausted after their gathering.

Well, most of them, anyway.

Yoru snuck out of his room, making his way to the kitchen. He was silent as a mouse as he made some hot chocolate, the process already engrained in him from many nights’ past. Soon enough he poured the drinks into two mugs, placing them on a tray.

With that done, he crept into the living area to swipe the blankets still laying around. He draped them carefully over an arm after pulling on his jacket and shoes.

He went back to the kitchen, grabbing the tray. Yoru wandered back up the stairs, heading to the second floor’s balcony to see if the person he was looking for was there.

He was.

Fubuki Shirou— the _real_ one, Yoru supposed— had cleaned off a portion of the bench, staring up at the stars. He had an unreadable expression on his face, arms wrapped around legs pulled to his chest.

Yoru thought he looked beautiful: Fubuki's silver hair danced in the moonlight, sparkling like one of the stars in the sky. There was a relaxation in his shoulders Yoru hadn’t seen in months.

Yoru slid open the glass door, making sure not to let it squeak as he stepped into the soft snow. The night was freezing, Yoru’s breath fogging with ease now that the sun had dipped far beyond the horizon.

How long had Fubuki been out here, looking at the stars in only a jacket and thin sleepwear?

Yoru walked over to Fubuki, holding out one of the mugs just in his line of sight. “Mind if I join you?” He whispered, giving his friend a small smile as Fubuki’s eyes traveled to him.

Hakuren’s Prince shook his head, taking the offered mug. Yoru brushed off another part of the bench, uncaring of the sharp sting of the snow against bare skin. He sat close to Fubuki; not quite touching, but close enough to show he was there.

He set the blankets in his lap, unfolding the one on top and quickly wrapping it around them both. Neither of them said anything as Yoru settled back with his own hot chocolate in hand, feeling no need to break the calm.

They sat in silence, listening to the world around them and looking up at the stars, quiet and content in each other’s presence.

“…. Atsuya is still here.” Fubuki’s quiet murmur almost faded into the background, as light as the wind. Yoru looked at him, a signal to continue. “He didn’t… didn’t _leave_ , like everyone seems to think he did.”

Fubuki’s hand was clutching his shirt over his heart, eyes locked to the sky. “He’s a part of me… So why do they believe he’s disappeared entirely?”

“They don’t understand what you are going through.” Yoru whispered when it seemed Fubuki had fallen silent. “We’re all… just kids, y’know? Most of them don’t know what it’s like, fighting your own mind.”

A gust of wind danced through the air, ruffling the boys’ hair as it whistled and sang. The crickets fell silent.

“…Do you?” Fubuki asked, voice almost taken by the breeze. It took Yoru a while to answer, thinking back to the many people he’d seen coming to see his mother and to himself.

“I… can’t say I understand.” Yoru’s own voice was quiet, the elder boy smiling sadly at Fubuki. When Fubuki glanced at him, Yoru elaborated, a small laugh in his voice as he looked at the sky himself.

“I… know what it’s like to fight your own mind. I fought through some pretty bad stuff the first few months after my accident, and even now I fight it. It’s scary-- terrifying.”

He paused, waiting for Fubuki to say something.

When he was met with silence, Yoru continued, “You, though… I’ve always known you were struggling with Atsuya. I’ve always known when you were fighting or coming together.”

He looked at Fubuki, eyes shining as he smiled at the snow prince. “Even now, I can see it. I’ve seen the changes you go through, and when you came back after Mt. Fuji, I was so, so incredibly happy to see you had finally found your balance.”

“Your ability, right?” Fubuki murmured, earning a short nod.

“Yeah, my ability.” Yoru sighed, gaze trailing to the inches of snow on the balcony’s railing as he brought a foot up onto the edge of the bench.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more when you two were fighting. I wanted to, but… I didn’t know how….” He ignored how his voice wavered from guilt, tapping his fingers against the side of his mug. “So, no, I can’t say I understand what fighting your own mind is like, because only you know what your demons are.”

He met Fubuki’s eyes, grinning and unable to stop the proud awe that slipped into his voice, “You… are so strong, Fubuki. This— what you did— is something that takes tremendous courage, and... and so much more than I could ever come close to guessing.”

He leaned a little closer, smile softening as he took in the hopeful gaze on Fubuki’s face, pure as the snow beneath them. “You may be Fubuki Shirou, but one thing is still clear, to me at least.”

“What’s that?” Fubuki asked, smile falling for a moment even as he let out a small laugh from familiar sentence.

“You are Fubuki Shiro…” Yoru reached out, placing his hand over the one Fubuki still had over his heart. “ _And_ , you are Fubuki Atsuya.”

He gave Fubuki’s hand a small squeeze, unknowingly looking at Fubuki as if he were the whole world. He put all his emotions into his next words, voice no louder than a whisper.

“Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ , can take that away from you.”

Fubuki’s breath hitched, eyes widening for a moment. A weak chuckle slipped from his lips, eyes shining. The next thing Yoru knew, Fubuki had him wrapped in a gentle, tight hug.

“Thank you, Yukimura.”

Yoru froze for a moment, not having expected the thanks after so long of saying the wrong thing. A chuckle-like gasp; Yoru melted into the hug, returning it tightly. “I’ll always be here for you, Shirou. I mean it.”

They stayed like that for a long time, hugging each other. A wolf howled in the distance, and the two remembered themselves.

When they moved back, Yoru offered Fubuki a smile, hoping the blush on his cheeks could be mistaken for the cold. He turned back to the forest that stretched beyond his home and lifted his mug, taking a sip of the still-warm drink.

“… Remember when I said that I had something I wanted to tell you, before Mount Fuji?” Fubuki quivered, long after their mugs had emptied and the moon peaked in the sky.

Yoru nodded, turning to face Fubuki again as he spoke. “Yeah, what— “

Yoru’s words were cut off as Fubuki leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss, his eyes widening from surprise. He must have been stunned a second to long because Fubuki was already pulling away and leaving Yoru chilled by gaping hole in his chest.

Before Fubuki could get too far, Yoru leaned in and returned the kiss. He pressed a little closer, their shoulders bumping together. His hand found Fubuki’s and their fingers laced together.

It didn’t quite succeed in being a proper kiss— neither of them had, actually—but they made Yoru feel warmer than ever.

 

[ ](https://ibb.co/3zGh3nJ)


	35. Chapter 34: At the Seams

Three months came and went after Aliea Academy, though not much had changed in that time.

 

Yoru’s 16th birthday had come and gone, and with it came a growth spurt that made him a few inches taller than Shirou. It made Shirou a little upset; he had one about a month after Yoru, and while they were close in height again, this time Yoru was the taller one.

 

 _“Just watch.”_ Shirou had huffed, practicing passes with Yoru and Hyouga one day before dinner. _“By the time we’re out of high school, I’ll be taller than you again.”_

 

 _“Uh-huh, sure.”_ Yoru had teased, even though he knew that, ultimately, Shirou would to be taller. Yoru’s family, although usually tall, had a habit of having the occasional short person in their midst.

 

Unfortunately, history showed that Yoru was due to be that person.

 

Hyouga, of course, had shouted that he’d someday be taller than them both, and then Shirou would date him instead. Shirou had gotten this look in his eye that meant he had thought of something that was more Atsuya than Shiro.

 

Yoru still had no idea what it was Shirou had thought of that day, but he knew that he’d find out eventually.

Now, though. Now, he and Shirou were on their way to Raimon because Coach Hibiki had called them and told them to.

They were excited to see the others again, after what felt like forever, though neither boy could ignore the question of _why_ Hibiki needed them in the first place.

 

“Ah, Yukimura! Fubuki!”

The Hokkaido boys turned around at the sound of their names, grins forming as they saw who it was. “Tsunami!”

Yoru let out a yelp as he was suddenly swept off his feet, lungs being crushed by the bear-hug Tsunami trapped him in. “Great to see you again!”

Yoru laughed, wobbling as he was set down. “Likewise. I take it Hibiki called you here, too?”

Tsunami nodded, grinning. “You bet!” His smile faded, replaced by furrowed eyebrows and a hand rubbing the back of his neck. “ ….You don’t happen to know why, do you?”

“No idea,” Shirou replied, shrugging his shoulders. “Maybe Raimon knows?”

“I hope it’s not another case of Aliens.” Yoru chuckled, grinning at the other two. “I don’t think I can handle another one of those.

Tsunami laughed, ruffling Yoru’s hair. “Whatever it is, we can handle it for sure!”

Shirou hummed in agreement, “We’re the strongest team, after all!”

The trio made their way to Raimon’s gym, noticing the pile of shoes deposited at the doorway.

Yoru grinned as he saw the people gathered in the hall, excitement building in his chest as he noticed many of the Raimon that fought Aliea.

It wasn’t long until they’d all caught up, realizing rather fast that no one had any clue as to why they were all called here. Coach Hibiki, it seemed, was staying almost completely silent on the matter.

Well, at least they all got to talk face to face again.

At the sound of a door opening, everyone turned to see who had come in. Yoru smiled when he saw just who it was.

“I was wondering where he was during all of this.” Yoru hummed, placing a hand on his hip as Endou walked in. Shirou nodded.

“Can’t have something related to soccer without Captain.” Shirou chirped, causing Tsunami to laugh in agreement.

“Were you called too?” Endou asked Tachimukai, who grinned and motioned towards the others.

“Not just me. Look!”

Endou’s grin only widened as he took in the sight of the other non-Raimon players that gathered in the gym. “Kogure! Tsunami! Yukimura! Fubuki!” He said, getting more and more excited with each name. Yoru smiled and waved in greeting.

“Hi~!”

“You look well, Captain.” Shirou greeted. Smiling at Endou.

Gouenji smirked from beside Endou. “You’re the one who’s late, this time.” The fire striker teased, causing Endou to laugh in embarrassment.

Their captain rubbed the back of his head, explaining that he had overslept, when he noticed Hijikata standing nearby. “Ah, Hijikata! I’m glad to see you here, too!”

 Hijitaka grinned. “I can play soccer all I like now!” He announced, and at Endou’s question about his siblings he was quick to reassure them. “The old lady next door is looking after them. Don’t worry.”

“Hey, Endou.” Tsunami said, “No one knows why we’re here. Have you heard?”

“I don’t know why, either.” Endou explained, looking around. “Where’s the coach?”

“He’s not here yet.” Kazemaru said, arms crossed over his chest.

“Captain!” Kurimatsu’s panicked shout caused Yoru to look over to his small cluster of people, wondering what was wrong. “Something’s odd with Megane!”

“He keeps saying he’s not the Megane we know…” Max said with a small frown, and out of curiosity, Yoru activated his ability.

“I am Megane Kazuto. I am the younger twin brother of the Megane Kakeru whom you’re familiar with.”

Sure enough, the glow around this Megane was different from the one Yoru had gotten to know during Aliea, although both were still rather stuck up and similar. It seemed that not only were they matching in looks, but also attitudes.

“He’s telling the truth.” Yoru told the others with a hum, watching as the Megane in front of them kicked a soccer ball into the basketball hoop with ease. “Aside from his clear difference in ability level, his glow’s a bit different as well.”

“Endou, Sakuma was called over as well.”  Kidou called over, happy that one of his old teammates was among the group. Sakuma looked around.

“As far as I can see, we’ve got a pretty strong crowd here.” The light blue-haired boy said with a smile, the comment making Yoru hum thoughtfully.

‘He makes a very good point… I wonder….’ Yoru’s musings were stopped when a familiar voice spoke up, looking up from where he had ended up staring.

He gasped when he saw Hiroto, free of any poisonous cloud from the Aliea Meteorite.

“Yoru...?” Shirou’s wary concern made Yoru’s heart melt, though he was quick to ease the worry.

He gave Shirou a smile and thumbs up. “I’m good! The effects of the Aliea Meteorite are completely gone.”

 He looked back over to the red-head as Hiroto mentioned someone else being there, a little surprised to see Reize from Gemini Storm.

Shirou got in front of Yoru a little bit when the ex-captain came forward, making Yoru chuckle as he placed a hand on Shirou’s shoulder.

“From _both_ of them.” He reassured. After Shirou determined that he wasn’t lying, he moved back.

Yoru was surprised by how different Reize- no, Midorikawa- was now that the sickly coloring to his glow was gone and he had no need for the Alien persona. He seemed just like any other kid the team had gotten to know. In fact, Yoru noted, he was rather _timid_ and easy-going compared to “Reize”.

“Well, this should be interesting.” He said with a small laugh, crossing his arms over his chest. Yoru used the time they had to study each glow he didn’t know in the room, waving to the boy Endou introduced as he studied his aura.

Toramaru’s aura was timid and afraid, which he found a little odd seeing as unlike Midorikawa’s natural timidness, Toramaru’s was oil compared to the water of his passion and respect for the others, which mixed wonderfully with the rest of Toramaru’s beige and bright yellow.

Hiroto’s was two or three different shades of red, a subtle ring of blue wrapping around it as black mixed in like two colors of paint.

The boy in the corner with the odd hairstyle that reminded Yoru of a moose had an odd aura. One that was hardworking and strong, but also screamed an undertone of defiance and unruliness. Yoru tried not to focus on it until he could figure out what the shades and colors must have meant at another time.

He looked around the room for any new glows he needed to check, but he’d barely scanned the room when a painfully familiar one caused his blood to run cold.

Angry, bloody red, royal purple, and black and dangerous wrapped in a false layer of brown, sunshine yellow, and orange.

A lump caught in his throat, making it hard to breathe. He forced himself to look away, deactivating his ability as he grew dizzy from fear.

“Yuki?”

Yoru flinched, immediately feeling guilty when he realized it was Shirou and not the owner of the violent glow. He glanced up from the floor, giving Shirou as casual a questioning look he could. “Yeah?”

“You okay?” Shirou asked, eyebrows creased with worry. “You look like you’ve seen—” Shirou’s eyes widened as he realized something, a hand on Yoru’s shoulder pulling him back behind Shirou. “What are _you_ doing here?”

 Yoru’s eyes widened at the quiet anger in Shirou’s voice, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment as it caused the others in the room to look towards them in confusion.

The one Shirou addressed chuckled, pushing off from the wall and shoving his hands in his pockets. “Aww, why the mean look?”

Silence filled the room as Watanabe walked forward, those who’d seen Yoru’s panic back on the island near Okinawa inching closer with distrust in their eyes. “I’m here, same reason as you.”

“Shirou, it’s okay.” Yoru mumbled, placing a hand on Shirou’s shoulder. He didn’t look at Watanabe as he spoke. “If he was called here, then he was called here.”

Tsunami’s eyes narrowed at Watanabe, distrusting. “Who’re you?”

“Aw, Yuki didn’t tell you about me? He wouldn’t shut up about you and that Otomura fellow.” Watanabe laughed, a kind grin on his face that put Yoru on edge. “I’m Watanabe Katashi, one of Yoru’s elementary school teammates!”

“He’s a forward at a rival school near Oumihara.” Yoru explained, trying to get his shoulders to relax. “Third year. Like us.”

“And the best striker in the area, at that!” Watanabe boasted, puffing out his chest and beaming with unsettling pride.

“Watanabe, huh?” Tsunami frowned, crossing his arms over his chest as he let out a huff. “Yeah, I remember Otomura telling me about you. You ride a bad beat.”

Watanabe giggled, smiling at Tsunami. “Oh, I’m sure he’s just exaggerating.”

Tsunami’s frown didn’t ease away.

Yoru felt far too much relief flood through him as the door to the gym opened behind them, whirling around to see who was entering the room and dispersing the foul air.

Coach Hibiki entered the room, Raimon’s managers close behind. Yoru sighed in relief, walking over with Shirou and the others to find out just what was going on. He tried to ignore the eyes on his back.

“Is everyone here?” Hibiki asked, and before anyone could say anything, another, far less comforting presence (though nowhere near as terrifying as Watanabe’s) made themselves known. Yoru scowled as he turned around, taking in Fudou Akio for the second time in his life and shaking his head as the air immediately turned accusing and unpleasant.

Fudou was strong, sure, but his attitude still needed a _very_ big adjustment. Yoru wasn’t quite sure if it really meant they could despise him the moment he made himself known to the room when chances are, Hibiki probably called him there for a reason, just like he’d called Watanabe there.

Yoru was not, however, about to point that out to the two angry Teikoku students and worried boyfriend becoming defensive over the it.

“That makes everyone.” Hibiki replied, unaffected by the unease that had washed over the room. Yoru turned back to Raimon’s coach, eager to move on and find out exactly why they were all called there. “Listen up carefully! You’re all candidates to become representative players for Japan!”

At the revelation, Yoru gasped, his suspicions becoming true at Hibiki’s words. This _was_ for that thing the Football Frontier people had been talking about a while back. He had been keeping tabs on it since it was first announced, but after he had read some of the rules— like what ages could participate— he had lost most of his interest in keeping up. It wasn’t that he wasn’t excited for it, but he figured that he’d just stay surprised by it like everyone else.

He certainly hadn’t expected to be brought into the thick of it, though.

“The Football Frontier is beginning a worldwide tournament this year. The Football Frontier International; FFI for short. It’s a tournament to decide the best youth soccer team in the world, and you’re the candidates to become Japan’s national players.” Coach Hibiki continued, and Yoru quickly interjected.

“Coach Hibiki, wait.” Yoru cleared his throat, ignoring how the hair at the back of his neck stood on end from Watanabe’s gaze. “The FFI rules state that no one over the age of 15 can play in it. I turned 16 back in December…. Why am I here?”

Coach Hibiki chuckled, grinning. “Somehow, I knew you were going to ask that, Yukimura.” Yoru looked down, cheeks red as even more eyes landed on him. “You’re right, you aren’t allowed to play in the tournament.”

“Then why…?” Shirou mumbled from beside Yoru, looking disheartened at the thought of doing this without him there.

“ _But_ no one said you couldn’t go as a manager or assistant coach.” Hibiki finished, grinning. “Which is what you’ll be to the team.”

Yoru blinked in surprise, looking back up at the coach as a small “Huh.” escaped his lips. He honestly hadn’t thought of that, especially not with Watanabe’s unhappy gaze glued to his back.

“I… suppose my eyes would be pretty helpful.” He admitted, crossing his arms over his chest and ducking his head a moment later. Shirou smiled brightly beside him, happy that Yoru had apparently been called over with his age in mind.

“This is great, guys!” Endou cheered, excitement rolling off him in waves as he threw a fist into the air. “Next is the world!”

“Yeah!” Everyone cheered in agreement. Yoru laughed a bit, trying to feel the same excitement as the others.

“This will be lots of fun!” Yoru exclaimed, smiling brightly at Shirou.

Shirou nodded, his own excitement nearly blinding. “I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.”

“The twenty-two of you here are only candidates, got it? We’ll be pushing it down to sixteen from here on.” Hibiki explained, letting them get out their excitement.  

Natsumi stepped forward. “First, we’ll split everyone here into two teams of eleven. These two teams will have a selection match in two days to determine who will become reps.”

“I will now be announcing the teams.” Aki said calmly, listing off the teams. Yoru moved to stand next to her, keeping his eyes off Watanabe as long as he could. Shame swirled in his chest; had it not been enough meeting him in Okinawa? He thought it was supposed to be easier now that he’s, at the very least, not shown too much fear in front of him.

He gnawed on his lower lip as the others were split apart into their places, giving Shirou a small smile when their gazes met. He watched as Fudou and Kidou were placed on the same team, questioning just how smart a decision that was.

Of course, he knew Hibiki had his reasons, but he wondered if everything was going to be okay in the long run.

“Endou, Kidou.” Hibiki announced, pulling them away from the internal discourse Fudou caused. “You’re the captains for your teams. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Endou said, followed by Kidou’s less passionate echo.

“The match is in two days. In order to observe your individual capabilities, use of combination techniques will be forbidden. Show us all you’ve got!”

With teams decided, Hibiki dismissed the group for practice, and the players started filing out of the room after Endou announced that his team would practice by the river.

Watanabe brushed his shoulder with Yoru’s as he passed, letting out a puff of laughter as Yoru tensed. “You can’t overshadow me this time, Yukimura.” He growled under his breath, loud enough for only Yoru to hear.

Glowing blood red eyes froze Yoru in place as Watanabe smirked, looking away and pulling on his shoes only as Shirou came over with Tsunami close at his side.

“Yoru, hey,” Shirou’s gentle voice snapped Yoru from his shock, causing him to look at Fubuki with wide eyes. Beside him, Tsunami was frowning at Watanabe’s retreating form, arms crossed over his chest. “You okay?”

Yoru nodded, quickly looking away as he put on his shoes. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, clearing his throat when his voice cracked. “Let’s go; just ignore Watanabe, okay? He’s not important.”

His scar pulsed, as if even it disagreed.


	36. Chapter 35: Bloody Moon

Yoru bit the inside of his cheek, staring at the restaurant’s sign above him.

‘Rairaiken, huh…?’

According to Endou and others from Raimon, this was where Coach Hibiki could almost always be found.

A heavy sigh left Yoru as he looked down at the ground, digging his nails into his palm. He had to talk to Hibiki; he knew Watanabe was strong, but Hibiki had to know about the striker’s history and why that made him a terrible choice.

…Right?

Yoru gulped, staring at the ground a moment longer before taking a deep breath to steel himself. He opened the door, walking in.

Hibiki looked up from where he was wiping down the counters. “Ah, Yukimura. What is it?”

Yoru opened his mouth to speak, freezing as he was hit by a wall of fear. What if Hibiki didn’t believe him?

What if Watanabe found out Yoru told Hibiki?

Shivers of fear ran down Yoru’s spine, clamping his mouth shut and freezing him in place. His eyes dropped to the floor. Hibiki let out a thoughtful hum.

“Come and sit. We have time before Endow will stop by.”

Yoru glanced up at Hibiki for a moment, looking away again as Hibiki went behind the counter. Hibiki tapped the counter.

Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Yoru sat down at the counter. He fiddled with his sleeves, saying nothing as Hibiki went about prepping for the night.

“Do you want something to eat?”

Yoru flinched at the sound, trapped in his thoughts for so long that Hibiki’s quiet offer was sudden and loud. Registering what was asked, Yoru shook his head.

Hibiki hummed. “Then what’s on your mind? I can’t help if you don’t tell me.”

Yoru lifted his gaze, looking at Raimon’s coach beneath his bangs. He opened his mouth. Closed it.

More silence.

“Why did you invite Watanabe?” Yoru’s voice shook as he asked the question, looking away as he waited for the inevitable answers and questions that followed.

Hibiki was quiet for a moment. “His abilities were highly rated. Nearly on par with your own. Since you couldn’t become a player, I thought having him as a candidate would be smart.”

Yoru’s heart clenched at the words, bile in his throat. “What about his teamwork? His attitude? I don’t mean to be rude, but Watanabe is not fit to be a representative of Japan.”

“In the end, I’m the one who will decide who becomes a rep or not. That’s what the selection match is for.”

Yoru’s hands shook; he clenched them into fists, biting his lip to try and keep the panic from growing. “No, you don’t understand...” He whispered. “Please, you can’t make him a rep.”

Hibiki let out a rumbling sigh, walking back around to crouch next to Yoru and place his hand on his shoulder. “If you have legitimate concerns, I’d love to hear them.”

Yoru gulped, digging his nails even further into his palms. He couldn’t bring himself to say the biggest reason Watanabe couldn’t be there. His throat closed up at the thought, too afraid that he wouldn’t be believed like before.

So instead, he said what he knew.

“Watanabe, he… he’s….” Yoru trailed off, biting his lip. He looked at Hibiki. “When you work as a team, you should be able to keep up and be a good sport. He’s not—at least, not below the surface. He’ll—”

The door to Rairaiken opened, startling Yoru so badly he bit his tongue, whirling around to see who it was.

Endou stood in the doorway, surprise in his eyes. “Yukimura?”

Yoru took that as his cue to leave. He slowly exhaled, waiting for his heart to settle back in his chest before he pushed away from the counter and got up. “I should—I should go. Sorry to take up your time, Coach Hibiki.”

Yoru bowed his head, slipping past Endou without a word.

\-----

Two days later, the selection match was about to be held.

Yoru leaned against the gymnasium’s wall, waiting with Endou’s team for the uniforms they would be wearing for the matches. He’d prefer to be helping the girls instead of sitting around waiting like he was a player, but the moment he’d tried Otonashi had shoved him into the locker room to be caught by Shirou when he stumbled with no explanation.

As confused and uneasy that made Yoru, he couldn’t really go against the girls wishes. They had their reasons. It was a bit easier than it would have been two days ago, as well. He’d somehow gotten used to Watanabe’s scathing looks, numb to his presence and finally able to act relatively normal around the other striker.

“I hope you make it, Shirou,” Yoru said with a small smile, “I don’t really want to go to the world if you aren’t there beside me.”

Shirou laughed softly, shrugging a bit. “It _does_ seem odd that you’ll be going somewhere I might not be able to follow, when normally it’s the other way around.”

Yoru nodded in agreement, laughing as well. “I still find the saying “Wherever you go, I’ll follow” far more appropriate when it’s me saying it, not you.”

“It makes more sense if it’s Fubuki saying it, though…” Tsunami mentioned offhandedly, looking over at the two with a small smile of his own. “Doesn’t it? Since your nickname is Northern Star and Fubuki’s is Prince of the Snowfield.”

“Don’t you start saying it, too!” Shirou yelped in embarrassment, cheeks turning pink as he frowned a little childishly at Tsunami.

Yoru let out a happy whoop, bouncing over to Tsunami and giving him a high-five. “Hah! I knew it’d stick eventually!”

Tsunami laughed, looking to Shirou with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I won’t use it if you don’t want me to.” He promised. Shirou smiled, letting out a relieved sigh.

“Thank you.”

Yoru giggled and stuck his tongue out at Shirou childishly, who returned it with a roll of his eyes that was just as playful. Still, he thought about what Tsunami said, and laughed at the realization he made a very fair point.

“You’re right, though, Tsunami, it _does_ make more sense for Shirou to be the one to say it if you use our nicknames.” Yoru admitted, smiling at the two, “But I still feel like it’s better if I’m the one who follows, seeing as Shirou can go to places I can’t any longer, but I still want to.”

Tsunami hummed and nodded, accepting the answer with ease. Behind him, Watanabe rolled his eyes behind Tsunami, face twisted with distaste even as he held his tongue.

“Everyone! Here are your new uniforms!” Aki announced as she came into the room, holding up the player and goalkeeper uniforms for the Japan national team.

“You know, I could have helped you girls with this, Aki.” Yoru said, taking the chance to help pass out the uniforms.

Aki grinned, giggling and leaning forward with her hands behind her back. “If you helped, then it’d ruin the whole point of this!” As she said the last word, Aki held out another, not packaged uniform in front of Yoru’s face, who blinked in surprise.

“I- I have one, too?” He asked, voice cracking. Aki nodded.

“It’s not, well… _official_ , so to speak, but we got the fashion club to make it for you.” She said, gently taking one of Yoru’s hands in her own and setting the uniform in it. Yoru felt a lump form in his throat. “Seeing as your uniform always coincides with the players, we only thought it fair the trend continued, even if you won’t be playing.”

Yoru’s eyes widened, blushing from the fact they cared enough to do something so unnecessary. He couldn’t figure out if he was excited or numb, Watanabe’s gaze once more burning a hole into his back.

“Seriously?” Yoru looked up from the uniform, searching Aki’s eyes for any sign she was kidding. Seeing none, he looked back down at the clothes in his hands, hiding his eyes behind his bangs as his lips quirked into a small smile. “That’s… Thanks.”

Aki smiled, “That’s not all! We’re also getting you and Megane the same jersey as the team as we speak.” She announced, and Yoru realized— not for the first time— he was so, so incredibly lucky to have gotten these kids as friends.

“You guys are just spoiling me at this point.” He said with a weak laugh.

Aki’s smile slipped, turning into concern. “Hey, are you—”

Yoru laughed as Aki suddenly blushed, letting out a short yelp and turning around as everyone else got a little too impatient and started changing.

Yoru covered his laugh with a hand, holding his own uniform at his side. Shirou looked over at Yoru, frowning when he saw he wasn’t changing. “Aren’t you going to change, too?”

Yoru blinked, having zoned out a little as he tried to feel more excitement than emptiness. He tensed slightly as Watanabe looked over at Shirou’s words, a hungry look in his eyes as they locked onto Yoru’s leg. Fear licked at his chest; Yoru looked away, trying to act casual as he tried to come up with an excuse.

“Oh, I’ll…. try it on later. Don’t want to confuse anyone watching, right?”

Shirou frowned, concern coloring his features. Yoru tried to laugh it off, giving him as genuine a smile as he could. “Anyway, you guys look amazing!” He said, changing the topic as everyone finished getting changed.

“This feels like such a significant moment!” Endou agreed, grinning. Behind him, Kabeyama was close to tears.

“I…. I…”

Max looked at him, chuckling, “Huh? Bathroom again?”

“I’m so overcome right now!” Kabeyama shouted, tears pouring from his eyes. Yoru chuckled, the excitement of Inazuma Japan’s selection match filling up the gap Watanabe had formed in his chest.

“Hey, hey, if you’re tearing up over the uniform now, you’ll be a mess when you’re picked for the team.” Hijikata teased.

Beside him, Tsunami was turning this way and that, taking in how the uniform fit to his body. “Blue is the color of the sea, I like it.”

Shirou smiled. “I’d sure like to wear this and play soccer at the world level.”

Hiroto nodded, looking at Fubuki. “But first you’ll need to be chosen as a representative.”

Yoru’s heart warmed as he watched the group, happy to see them all so excited about this opportunity. In the back of the group Watanabe stood, all innocent smiles gone as sea-foam green eyes locked on Yoru’s. The serious expression on his face twisted, slipping into a Cheshire grin.

Yoru looked away, crossing an arm over his chest to hug himself. The excitement drained away, replaced with a sickness at the thought Watanabe might finally get what he’d wanted all along.

He prayed Shirou and the others didn’t get hurt.

\----

When they got out onto the field, Yoru stopped Shirou for a moment, lightly grabbing his wrist. “W-Wait! I need to tell you something.”

“What’s that?” Shirou asked, worry in his eyes even as he smiled.

Yoru tried to smile back. “Be careful…. Watanabe might try to play dirty, even if he’s on your team.”

Shirou’s worry only seemed to grow; he nodded, and Yoru felt his shoulders relax a little.

“I have one more thing to say to you: show them what Fubuki _Shirou_ can do,” Yoru breathed, this time giving Shirou a genuine smile.

Shirou smiled back, eyes bright with excitement. He nodded, letting out a short “Mm!” before running out onto the pitch with rest of the candidates. Yoru made his way to the bench Raimon’s managers were sitting on, settling down beside Otonashi.

He activated his ability as the match started, wanting to see and study a few of them a bit more. As usual, the sight of Shirou’s glow, still two separate halves representing Shiro and Atsuya but finally intermingling and twisting together as one, made Yoru smile. He was so proud of him (them? He still wasn’t sure what Fubuki preferred when it came to the merge).

Yoru’s eyes traveled over each player, taking in their glows for a few minutes each. He skipped over Watanabe, trying to ignore him as much as possible.

Movement on the other side of the field, near the school building, had Yoru pulling his attention away from the practice match to the man and girl standing there. He frowned slightly, turning to Otonashi. “Otonashi… Who’s that up there?” He asked, pointing to the man and girl. Otonashi looked where he was pointing, squinting, but a moment later she gave him a small shake of the head.

“I’m sorry, I can’t see any details to be able to say.” She apologized.

Yoru smiled kindly. “It’s okay. I was just curious, is all.”

Now that he was looking over the crowd, though, Yoru noticed two more… odd people.

 The two males were far away from the pitch but still very clearly watching, and the one in cargo pants looked far too serious for Yoru’s liking. He turned his attention back to the match, sighing softly as he focused on the players.

He froze as Watanabe ran for the goal, his glow flaring as he flipped the ball’s rotation with a harsh pinch from his foot. The field grew dark as Watanabe launched the ball into the air, everyone watching with bated breath. Yoru couldn’t breathe as a bloody moon formed when the ball crested its arc, dark red and dripping as Watanabe leapt into the air.

Yoru squeezed his eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The moon was imprinted on his eyelids, silent as it mocked him. He couldn’t feel his fingers from where they were holding onto the edge of the bench. He could hear people cheering, the sound roaring for a moment before cutting away completely.

He stood up, startling Otonashi, Megane, and Aki. His stomach rolled as Watanabe’s eyes met his, and without wasting another second, Yoru strode away from the field with regret and shame curled tightly in his stomach like a weigh, dragging him down.

Further away from the field, Yoru found it was easier to breathe. It gave him the chance to collect himself, even as unease crawled under his skin like centipedes, shame mocking him like whispers over his shoulder.

Tobitaka was intriguing: he had no idea what he was doing and was rather awkward, it was almost _too_ easy to notice he was a beginner. He must have had some talent, otherwise Hibiki wouldn’t have brought him in as a candidate, but Tobitaka had no idea what it was, apparently. Or, he just didn’t know how to bring it out.

Kidou’s team scored a goal a few moments later with Gouenji’s Bakunetsu Storm, and Yoru was impressed by how much everyone had grown over the past few months. Someoka scored for Endou’s team soon after, and it became easier to breathe as Yoru watched them continued to go back and forth with the ball.

Toramaru was just as intriguing as Tobitaka. He had amazing skill, but the fear and unease clouding his glow only seemed to flare when he was unable to pass to Gouenji even though he had the ability to shoot a goal himself. Yoru wondered what his story was.

 The first half ended.

Yoru forced his feet to move, making his way back to the group. He helped the girls hand out towels and water bottles to the team, rolling his eyes good-naturedly at the elder Megane when he proudly stated that he would be the tactical advisor to Inazuma Japan. “We probably have the most managers out of the entirety of the teams participating in the tournament.” Yoru said with a small laugh.

“Well that’s because we have good people!” Tsunami grinned, “It’d be sad if none of you were able to come along.”

Shirou, Hijitaka, and Hiroto nodded in agreement, making Yoru laugh from just how readily they agreed.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right about that.”

“Hey, Yuki~”

Yoru tensed, glancing at Watanabe.

The tall boy was grinned, hands behind his head as he asked, “How’d you like Bloody Moon? I made it special, aaaaaaaallllll for you.”

Yoru bit his cheek, the pain stopping the chill that wrapped around his lungs. He forced a smile. “It was great, Watanabe. Very strong.”

“Stronger than Grimm Reaper, ya think?”

Yoru tensed, mouth running dry. “M-Maybe?” He winced at the stutter, but as Watanabe’s expression started to darken Yoru was quick to continue. “G—Grimm Reaper’s not that strong anymore; I bet Bloody Moon is… is great.”

Watanabe grinned, rocking on his heels and puffing out his chest. “I knew it would be~” He sang. Yoru ducked his head, shaking it slightly as Shirou and Tsunami looked at him worriedly.

‘Just ignore him. Play along only when needed.’ Yoru reminded himself, trying to ignore how his heart started racing from the feeling of eyes along his skin.

The second half went just about the same as the first, with the added bonus that Yoru had finally seen a glimmer of the talent that Hibiki saw in Tobitaka. The beginner had strong winds that reduced the speed of a shoot to the point of a simple, light toss.

He just didn’t know how to control them.

As the match was nearing its end, Yoru smiled at the sight of Shirou using Wolf Legend, once again finding a wolf to be quite possibly the best animal for him.

Strong, fierce, and loyal, a wolf had always seemed to fit Fubuki in ways no other animal could. A wolf was Shiro and Atsuya as they worked together.

In simpler terms, a wolf was Shirou.

\----

“Before we announce the results of the selection match, let me introduce you to the coach of the Japan’s national team.” Hibiki announced, motioning to the man Yoru had seen watching the match from beside the school. While Raimon let out stunned shouts, Yoru studied the male that had been watching the selection match from by the school.

“So, he’s the coach, huh…” Yoru murmured, a small frown in place as he activated his ability and looked at the man’s glow. It was laced with guilt and worry, but altogether was a cool, calm, and intelligent mix of silver and gray with a little beige mixed in. Yoru hummed; he seemed like he’d be a good coach.

As Endou asked why Hibiki wouldn’t be the coach, Yoru’s eyes slid over to the man in question. He held back a gasp of shock, eyes widening as he took in the dark ring of illness that covered Hibiki’s mentor-ly glow.

Coach Hibiki might…

Yoru blinked, letting everything return to normal as he shook his head. He couldn’t think like that.

Whenever someone was in dire need of medical attention, the color of illness grew dark like that. Very rarely did it actually succeed in becoming a warning of death.

Hibiki would be fine.

“I will now announce the members of the representative team.” The new coach, Kudou, said calmly as he lifted the clipboard in his hands and began to read the names off the list. Yoru held his breath, anxious and eager to know the results.

Yoru sighed in relief as Shirou and Tsunami were chosen as representatives, placing a hand to his chest. He had always known they would be two of them— they were able to give a lot to the team, and worked well with the others, but the sight of this new coach and even the critical gaze that Hibiki had worn as he watched the match had very quickly made him nervous about more than the possibility of Watanabe being picked.

The fact Fudou also made the team made sense strategically, and Yoru knew that, but it didn’t stop his nerves from rocketing up a small bit as his name was called. How could they be certain that nothing bad would happen with him on the team? Fudou had no qualms about playing dirty when he had been under Kageyama’s orders, and Yoru wasn’t quite sure he had changed.

What if that meant Watanabe would be chosen, too?

“And last of all… Endou Mamoru.”

Yoru felt all the tension leave his body, slowly letting out the breath he’d been holding. Watanabe hadn’t been chosen.

Hibiki turned his back to the players. “Starting today, you are representing Japan as Inazuma Japan. Those who are chosen have the responsibility of carrying on the feelings of those who were not chosen.”

The group was silent for a moment, taking in their coach’s words. Endou was the first to break it, shouting, “Yes, sir!”

The others quickly followed, and after another moment of silence, Hibiki began to leave, officially handing the reins over to Kudou.

“Listen up,” Kudou said, bringing the attention to him. “The path moving up to the world is steep. Are you ready to take it?”

“Yes, sir!” The players responded.

Kudou gave them a few more words before the groups split away. The chosen candidates formed a group huddle, the ones who weren’t chosen watching them with a bittersweet gaze.

Yoru snapped his body ramrod straight as Watanabe glared right at him with eyes glowing red, silent anger rolling off him in waves. He gulped. Watanabe stalked over; Yoru flinched as his hand landed on his shoulder, sharp nails digging into his flesh beneath the shirt. Watanabe leaned in close. “Follow me.”

Afraid to made Watanabe mad in front of the others, Yoru quickly nodded, a lump in his throat.

The moment they were out of sight of the others, Yoru yelped as his shirt collar was grabbed and he was lifted into the air.

“Did you say something to those old badgers?” Watanabe hissed, eyes narrowing. “I was the best player out of all of them!”

“I didn’t say anything!” Yoru whimpered, fear and panic swelling into his chest. His lungs felt too full, his breath hitching as he tried to get enough air.

He scratched at Watanabe’s hands, whimpering as the stronger boy let out a menacing growl. Tears pricked his eyes as the fear continued to build, vision blurring as a bloody moon flashed in front of him.

 _“Finally! Finally people will see how weak you are! From now on, people will be cheering for_ me _!”_

_A sensation of falling, blinding pain against the back of his head, his hurt ankle slamming into metal, something tearing as he tried to stop only to fall even furth—_

“Even when you can’t play, you still get to go against the world.” Watanabe spat, the blood red of his eyes glowing even brighter as he slammed Yoru’s back into the side of the school building hard enough to bruise. “Why can’t people realize how useless you are?!”

“Hey!”

Yoru gasped as he was dropped for the second time by Watanabe, his hands moving to cover his ears as he squeezed his eyes shut. His scar burned, ankle pulsing with phantom pain that made it hard to breathe. Someone stood over him and Yoru curled even tighter into a ball, shaking violently as he gasped for breath.

_White hot pain hands on his leg let go it hurts it hurts it HURTS—_

Yoru gasped, coughing as air rushed into his lungs and they finally felt like they were emptying a moment later. His eyes burned, chest heaving as he remembered how to breathe naturally. Slowly, he removed his hands from over his ears, blinking as he tried to register what was going on.

A hand went to his cheek when he felt something wet, eyes widening when Yoru realized he was crying.

He slowly turned his gaze to the one who’d chased Watanabe away, cheeks burning bright when he realized it was Coach Kudou.

Yoru slumped against the brick, wincing as he registered the pain radiating down it. It would bruise for sure, if it wasn’t covered in scratches.

Neither male said anything for what felt like hours, the older man staying crouched in front of Yoru.

“Watanabe is not allowed to be on the reserves. He is officially banned from this team completely.”

Yoru looked away, hugging his knees to his chest. “…Thank you, Coach Kudou.” He mumbled. Coach Kudou gave him a firm nod, standing up and offering Yoru his hand.

Yoru didn’t take it, instead letting out a soft grunt as he pushed himself to his feet. Shame burned through his core and he quickly left the scene, straightening his posture and reminding himself to smile and be excited for the others as he made his way back down to the field.

It was almost funny, he thought, how something so exciting had turned so bitter.


	37. Chapter 36: Eclipsed by the Haze

Yoru sat in his bedroom in Raimon’s training dormitory, legs swung over the back of his chair and chin resting on his arms. On his bed was the uniform Aki had given him earlier that day, spread out and waiting innocently to be worn.

Without Watanabe there to make him uneasy, Yoru  could finally take the time to admire the uniform.

His top was styled almost completely like the shirts for the player uniforms, the number 30 sewn into the back. Where the accents were white on the official uniform, Yoru’s were a bright golden and the red dash beneath the collar didn’t exist on Yoru’s top.

Both similar and not similar to the player’s pants, Yoru’s were a light gray, with two stripes of blue along the sides. They were a bit short— Aki must have used the measurements from when they were fighting Aliea-- and exposed the part of his scar that wrapped around his ankle.

Yoru felt conflicted over it; after the latest encounter with Watanabe, he wasn’t sure he could handle having his scar exposed.

He sighed, closing his eyes. Any excitement he’d felt over the FFI had faded almost completely, replaced with a bone-deep exhaustion that he hoped would flip around sooner rather than later. Not to mention the guilt.

There was so much guilt.

A knock on his door had Yoru opening his eyes and lifting his head. “Come in.”

Yoru smiled as Shirou entered the room, closing the door behind him. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

Shirou walked over to Yoru’s bed, moving the shirt to the side and sitting on the edge of the bed. “You okay?”

Yoru gave Shirou a small smile, shrugging his shoulders. “Tired.”

They were quiet for a while, Shirou eventually taking Yoru’s shirt in his hands and studying it. He let out an impressed whistle. “Wow, it’s almost like the real thing!”

Yoru chuckled, smiling. “I know right? It looks great.” With a small grunt, Yoru stood up, walking over to the bed to sit next to Shirou. “Though I’m still a little jealous.”

Shirou bumped his shoulder with Yoru’s, smiling. “You don’t need to be jealous! You’re still coming with us, you know? And I wouldn’t do this without you, you know that.”

Yoru’s eyes widened, snapping his head to face Shirou. “What?! No! That’s not what I meant!”

Shirou laughed, taking one of Yoru’s hands in his. “I know, don’t worry.”

Yoru hunched his shoulders, unimpressed by the tease. 

Still, he appreciated the gesture. He sighed as he gave Shirou’s hand a squeeze, giving him a stern look. “Listen to me, if you _ever_ refuse something like this because I don’t get to join you, I will pull a Gouenji and hit you with a soccer ball.”

Shirou laughed, resting his head on Yoru’s shoulder. Yoru smiled, warmth curling in his chest. “That’s fair.” Shirou hummed, looking up at Yoru; his smile grew. “You look happier already.”

Yoru chuckled, lightly nuzzling Shirou. “I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

\------

The next morning, Yoru was shocked to see an Inazuma Japan jersey draped over the chair in his room with care.

He had expected it, because Aki had told him before the selection match about the jersey, but he had been thinking it was going to be finished later in the week, not the day after. He ran his hands over the material, admiring the jacket. It looked like the real thing, even though the school’s fashion club had made it. The kids there were going to go places, if they were able to do so well on something like this.

He put it on along with the pants he’d been given, smiling happily as it fit without a problem. It felt… right, almost. Like this was where he was meant to be.

It made the hole in his chest close up and the guilt ease away a little more.

He finished getting dressed and went downstairs, passing Aki on the way.

“Ah, Aki! Thank you for the jersey.” He whispered, not wanting to wake anyone up. Aki smiled, chuckling.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all. It was fun for the fashion club to make everything.” She explained, patting Yoru’s shoulder as she continued up the steps. “Now, please excuse me; I need to get everyone up!” She laughed at that; Yoru grinned, giving her a thumb’s up.

“Have fun!” He hummed. Aki nodded before continuing up the stairs.

Yoru made his way into the kitchen, smiling brightly as he spotted Otonashi already working away on making breakfast. The young girl looked up from where she was cleaning the rice, grinning when she saw Yoru.

“Good morning, Yukimura!”

“Good morning, Otonashi. Would you like help making breakfast?”

Otonashi nodded, smile never fading. “That’d be great, thank you!”

With a nod of his own, Yoru rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. “So how have you been the past couple of months?” He asked, earning a shrug.

“Same as always.” She said with a small hum, before giving him a kind, knowing smile. “You and Fubuki seem to have had a busy past few months, though.”

Yoru blushed, laughing. “Yeah, I suppose we have.” He admitted, starting to cut up some ingredients. “A lot’s happened since Aliea.”

Otonashi nodded, the two falling into a comfortable silence as they worked.

“Um, Yukimura, can I ask you something?”

Yoru glanced at her, wondering if she was okay since her voice shook. “What’s up?”

Otonashi didn’t look at Yoru, lightly biting her lip. “Are you okay? Watanabe, he…”

Yoru tightened his grip on the knife in his hand, slowly exhaling. He continued cutting, not looked at Otonashi as he said, “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

“You sure? He was pretty scary…”

Yoru let out another soft laugh, his heart warming slightly even though the topic was less than pleasant. He’d forgotten how nice it was to be with Raimon— they had little tact, but they cared deeply for their friends. He gave Otonashi a small pat on the head, careful to avoid her glasses.

“I’m sure.” He promised. “Don’t worry, okay? Just forget about him.”

Otonashi puffed her cheeks up in a pout, looking unsure as she studied Yoru’s face. He smiled at her, hoping to prove that she had nothing to worry about.

After a moment, Otonashi sighed. “Will do!” She agreed dutifully, the same excitement and cheer that she’d always had coloring her words returning.

With the topic settled, they spent the rest of the time making breakfast while talking about random things that happened the past few months.

As they talked, most of Inazuma Japan’s players slowly came into the kitchen with sleep still prickling at their skin. Some were wide awake and ready to begin training. It was a comfortable start to the morning, and Yoru guessed that many just like it were going to come in the near future.

When Shirou walked in and they caught each other’s eye, Yoru gave him a small smile. Shirou gave him one in return before going to get his food, and something in Yoru’s chest fluttered from the simplicity of it all.

\---

Yoru rested his chin on his knees, watching the group practice from hill near the pitch. Normally he’d be watching from the benches, but the hole in his chest was starting to tear itself open again as he watched them. So, he felt being a bit further away from the group would be better, at least for a little bit: until Watanabe’s words stopped digging into his flesh, hissing in the back of his mind.

“Yukimura,” Coach Kudou’s voice caught Yoru’s attention, making his shoulders tense as he looked over at the man.

“Yes, Coach Kudou?” He asked, trying not to look unnerved as Kudou finished making his way towards him.

“Hibiki tells me you’re coming along as an assistant coach. Why is that?”

“Ah…” Yoru bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck. There wasn’t a good way to explain this, was there? “Well… would you believe me if I said it was because of my eyes?”

“Your eyes?”

Yoru almost cringed at the sheer disbelief in his tone, nervous laughter bubbling out of him. “Yeah, my eyes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded copy of the medical records talking about his eyes. As tedious as it felt, his mother had insisted he carry at least one copy after Aliea.

“Here, this explains it.” He sighed, “I can’t really… _show_ you it until our first match in the preliminaries.”

Kudou huffed, unfolding the papers and scanning over them. After a moment he sighed, folding them up again and placing them in his own pocket. “I’ll look over these later. For now, I’d like to know as much as possible about the team. Anything you know would be a big help.”

Yoru blinked at him, slowly nodding. “Well, I don’t know anything about Tobitaka and Toramaru … I don’t know much about Fudou, Hiroto, Midorikawa, or Hijikata, either.”

“But everyone else?”

“I can give you quite a bit of information, yes; especially on Shirou.”

Coach Kudou nodded, falling silent as he turned his gaze back to the team’s practice. “Write down as much as you can. The sooner I get the information, the better.”

“Yes sir.”

“I hope you know I don’t plan to go easy on your friends.” He said after a moment.

Yoru nodded. “I’ve realized this, yes. You mentioned earlier that they were never going to get far as they are now, so I plan on helping you bring out their potential if I can.” He looked back at the group, sighing. “Just… don’t hurt them. Mentally or emotionally. We’ve already had enough of that.”

Kudou nodded, saying nothing else.

\----

“What are you working on?” Shirou asked, sitting down next to Yoru as the team relaxed after dinner. Yoru smiled, leaning against him lightly and showing him the list he had been making.

“Coach Kudou wanted a list about all of you.” He explained, tapping his pen against the edge of the pages. “He wants to know your strengths and weaknesses, etc. To see what we need to work on.”

“I see.” Shirou glanced over the page of writing. “You’ve got a lot of stuff down already.”

Yoru nodded, smiling. “I remember quite a bit from our fights against Aliea.” He tapped his pencil against the notebook again before pointing it idly at Hiroto and Midorikawa. “Although I don’t have much info on you two.”

The two ex-aliens smiled sheepishly from where they were doing homework with more of the team, making Yoru laugh and wave it off with a kind smile. It wasn’t their fault they had been coated in toxic meteorite energy that made Yoru unable to study their movements.

“So, I’m really just focusing on those who ended up on the Raimon Eleven.” He lowered his voice a little bit, “And what I know of Fudou.”

Shirou nodded in understanding. “Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Yoru laughed, resting his head on Shirou’s shoulder. “It’s not that bad. Besides, until we get to the matches, I need to do _something_. Kudou doesn’t seem like he believes the stuff about my eyes.”

“Is something wrong with your eyes?” Hiroto asked, a small frown on his face and a worried crease in his brow. “You didn’t show up at the final battle with Aliea, either…”

“Ah, my eyes are fine.” Yoru reassured, waving off his concern. He paused. “Well, _now_ , anyway.”

“Yoru’s eyes are special.” Shirou explained with a hum, like it was the most casual of topics. “His family has an old kind of magic in their veins.”

Yoru’s eyes widened slightly; he lifted his head to look at Shirou, curious. “I never told you that. How did you know?”

Shirou grinned slyly. “Your brother showed me the _entire_ collection of notes your family has.”

Yoru laughed, grinning. “Oh, my god.”

“What’s this about magic?” Midorikawa asked, bringing the two back to the current topic. He and the others had amused smiles on their faces; Yoru cleared his throat a little, blushing along with Shirou.

“Right, sorry.” He apologized, giving the group in front of him a small smile.

“Anyway, you guys know how we all have magic that helps us create hissatsu techniques?” At the collection of nods, Yoru continued. “Well, there’re other types of magic, too. I… don’t really know what types, but a couple centuries ago my ancestors and a few others started doing research on this stuff.”

Yoru shrugged, thinking back the many books and papers he’d read. “Turns out, my family has a kind of magic that makes some of us able to sharpen our vision and see a person’s aura— or as I like to call it, glow.”

“Why don’t you just call it an aura?” Hiroto inquired, leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees. Yoru was a bit surprised to see how interested in it he was.

“Well, you know how there are all kinds of people who claim to be able to see auras and the like? Usually make up a bunch of stuff and just sort of scream fake to everyone who goes to them, or are so airheaded it’s embarrassing?”

“Right…” Hiroto frowned, but before he could say anything else Yoru continued.

“When I was younger, my family and I were curious to see if any of them really _could_ see what I could. So, we called or sent emails to as many as we could. All of them were fakes.”

Yoru looked down at his paper, tapping his pencil against it lightly as he sighed. “Quite a few of them also laughed in our faces and called us crazy. Said we should get our heads looked at.”

Shirou pressed a little closer, a comforting presence at his side. “Ever since, I’ve hated the term ‘aura’. I use it to describe the glow because it makes more sense than ‘glow’, but every time I say it, it leaves a gross taste in my mouth.”

The others nodded a bit in understanding, making Yoru smile a little bit. “Anyway, along with being able to see the glow that surrounds a person, our vision is crazy good. We can catch little things from really far away.”

“Yukimura can see all kinds of things on the field from the benches that we wouldn’t be able to see.” Otonashi chirped, “Like someone licking their lips, or the timing and lag between passes or reactions to movements.”

“Wow, really?” Hijikata asked, surprise on his face along with the others who had never known about Yoru’s ability. Yoru nodded, laughing softly.

“Yep! I even have medical records that prove it, although Coach Kudou has them right now.”

“… Don’t you already have good eyesight though?” Tsunami asked, still rather new to the full revelation of Yoru’s ability. Since he hadn’t been a part of the team when Yoru was at Oumihara, Yoru had never really told him about it as it had never come up in conversation.

Yoru laughed, nodding a bit. “I do. Made it very difficult for the doctors to figure out if I had it or not, at first.”

“Yoru’s great-great grandma had it, too,” Shirou jumped in, grinning, “She had very bad eyesight, but her ability was still up to par with Yoru’s, from what his family’s records say.”

“Grandpa said she was the one to really convince doctors about our family’s ability.” Yoru said with a hum. “Her eyesight was _that_ bad.”

“So… how does it work, exactly?” Kazemaru asked, curiosity in his eyes. “Is there some sort of mental switch, or…?”

Yoru hummed again, trying to think of a good answer. “It’s…. kind of like a mental switch, I guess.” He said after a moment. “Usually I have to close my eyes and focus for a few moments in order to get my vision to sharpen, but in casual conversations I could activate it with my eyes open. To deactivate it I usually blink while looking away from whatever I was looking at before. Or get startled in some way.” He paused a moment, thinking and trying to see if there was anything else. “Oh, I’m getting better at activating it, though! Doesn’t take nearly as long— or as much concentration.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Tsunami exclaimed, grinning.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Yoru shrugged a little bit, smiling. “It has its up and downs.”

“So, what happened to make you miss the match at Mt. Fuji? You weren’t there for the match with the Dark Emperors, either…” Kazemaru asked, eyebrows furrowing in concern, but before Yoru could say anything Coach Kudou came into the room.

“Yukimura, I need you to come with me.” He said, no room for argument in his voice. Yoru nodded, subtly giving Shirou’s hand a small squeeze before standing up and tearing the finished pages of his list out of his notebook.

He smiled apologetically at the others, looking towards Tsunami and Shirou. “Well, either you guys can explain what happened or I can later. Night!” He waved, heading over to Coach Kudou and leaving the room with him.

He followed Coach Kudou to the soccer pitch, unease prickling his skin when the older man stayed silent after being given the finished parts of the list. “Coach Kudou?” He asked, looking at the older man for an explanation.

Instead, Kudou continued to say nothing, staring out at the soccer field like it had answers he wanted.

“…Are you okay? After—”

“I’m fine, sir.” Yoru interrupted, tensing from the question. “And I’d prefer the encounter be dropped entirely.”

Coach Kudou glanced at him, looking none too pleased with Yoru’s words.

Still, he dropped the matter. “Your medical records are something I find incredibly hard to believe.”

“Most people do.”

Kudou fell silent once again; Yoru rubbed the back of his neck nervously as it stretched out. “Sir…?”

“Why are you here?” Kudou asked, “Why did Coach Hibiki send you, a 16-year-old boy with a wounded leg and supposedly amazing vision, to help train this team? You have no experience. You have nothing to bring to the field, from what I’ve seen.”

While the remarks stung a bit, Yoru had to agree. He _didn’t_ know why Coach Hibiki thought the team would need him.

“I don’t know.” He said, voice steady, “I don’t know why Coach Hibiki thought I’d be helpful, because you’re right. You _and_ Watanabe. Aside from matches, there’s nothing I can really do to help the team as I am now.”

Yoru paused a moment, thinking carefully about what to say next. “I know how to avoid slides and tackles. I can create strategies and give pointers during matches. I can… help keep the team from overworking themselves?”

He hugged himself a bit, looking down at the ground. “All I know is that I want to help. I want to keep what happened to me from happening to anyone ever again, as long as I can help it. I know that’s something that’s near impossible to prevent— people get hurt. That’s how things go, and I know that…. But standing around doing nothing? That’s not what I want for me.” He gripped his arms tightly, digging in his nails. “I got back the ability to walk— no wheelchair, no crutches: I don’t want to stop here.”

Kudou was looking at Yoru now, gaze calculating as it focused on Yoru and pinned him there. It made Yoru fidgety, but he dug his nails in harder and met the man’s gaze as levelly as he could. “Even if you don’t want me here, I’m staying. I want to help Shirou and the others get to where I can no longer go.”

Coach Kudou sighed, finally breaking eye contact with Yoru, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think I get it, now.” He murmured, before looking at Yoru again with the same determination and conviction he looked at the team with.

“Okay, you said you can help train them to avoid tackles and slides? The moment you finish the rest of this list on the others, I want you to at least write down what you’ve got in mind for that training. I’ve got information on the other teams that you kids won’t be able to get, and we’ll be creating training regimens with it. Do _not_ tell them this.

“I plan to work you just as hard as the others, you hear? No going easy on you, and while I will take what you have to offer into account, you _will_ do as I say.”

Yoru nodded quickly, a little floored by the sudden switch of Kudou’s attitude. Kudou gave Yoru a small smile, so fast and small he wasn’t entirely sure it had been real. “You’ve got a long way to go, but I’ll make you one of the best coaches out there.”

Yoru blushed in embarrassment and he quickly looked away. “…Thank you, sir. I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I want.” Kudou chuckled, before pausing another moment. “Just one last thing.”

“What?”

“If your leg starts giving you problems, _tell me_. No keeping it hidden. I’m going to want you to physically help train them. Show them examples of the moves you want them to execute when dodging.” Kudou gave him a stern look and Yoru laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Now then, go and get some rest. I’ll need you up early so we can get started on _your_ training.”

Yoru nodded, gave their coach a small bow, and left. 

The others had gone to bed not long ago themselves, leaving the common room and kitchen empty. 

Yoru padded up the stairs and to his room, opening the door as quietly as possible. He smiled when he saw Shirou sitting on the bed.

“What’re you doing here?” He laughed. "I thought you'd crashed already, like the others."

 Shirou grinned, walking over. “I was a little worried about what Coach wanted.” He said, taking Yoru’s hand and pulling him into the room. “Everything went okay?”

“Eh, his words had a little bit of a bite to them, but nothing bad.” Yoru explained, taking off his jersey. He smiled at Shirou. “Do you want to stay the night? I have to get up early, though. Coach’s orders.”

Shirou smiled kindly and shook his head. “Not tonight, no. If tomorrow’s practice is anything like today’s, though? Definitely. I’m tired.” Yoru laughed happily, pulling Shirou over to his bed and grabbing him so that they fell onto it together. Shirou laughed, kissing the tip of Yoru’s nose; Yoru held in a wince as the bruises and scratches along his back reminded him of their presence when he flopped onto the bed, not wanting Shirou to know about them. 

“I wish you’d stay.” Yoru sighed, nuzzling Shirou lightly in return. “I like cuddling with you, and it's so much nicer having you in the same room instead of down the hall.”

“Me too,” Shirou agreed with a small hum. “But it might make it easier for you to get up early if I’m not in the bed with you.”

Yoru laughed again, nodding in agreement. “That’s very true.”

They laid together like that for a few moments, content in the silence. “So, what did Coach Kudou want?” Shirou asked softly, making Yoru sigh.

“Well, he’s going to train me in the ways of coaching. I’m going to be doing a crazy bunch of stuff to help you guys get stronger, a lot of which seems to be leaning towards planning.”

“You want to be an athletic trainer though. Not a coach.” Shirou smiled slightly, amusement in his eyes as Yoru nodded.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him that later.” Yoru said with another small laugh. “It certainly won’t hurt to be able to coach a team as well, after all. Especially since I’m still not good with most leg injuries.”

Shirou nodded in agreement, pulling Yoru closer and burying his face in Yoru’s neck.

“He’s going to train you guys pretty hard.”

Shirou hummed softly, moving back so he could cross his arms across Yoru's chest and rest his chin on them. Yoru nearly melted from how the angle gave Shirou almost perfect puppy dog eyes. “I still don’t know if I like him.”

Yoru nodded. “I know what you mean; I don’t know if I can really trust his methods. His glow doesn’t say anything bad, though… he’s just trying to make up for past mistakes, I think.”

Shirou nodded, sighing softly as he sat up a moment later. “If you think he’s good, I’ll give him a chance.” Shirou murmured, smiling. Yoru’s own small smile only grew.

“That’s all I ask.” He said softly, leaning up and giving Shirou a simple kiss.

Even though the kiss was over as soon as it had started, Yoru felt himself relaxing from the small action.

He always enjoyed kissing Shirou. It didn’t make his stomach fill with butterflies, or send sparks flying, but it made Yoru feel like everything was okay. That he didn’t have to act like nothing was wrong or he wasn’t in pain on the days his leg was killing him.

It wasn’t what books or movies described, but to Yoru, it was even better.


	38. Chapter 37: Men of Oceans

“Yukimura, time to get up.”

Yoru groaned as he sat up in his bed, sitting back on his heels and yawning. He blearily looked at the clock next to the bed and then at the man standing at his bedside.

“It’s 4:00 in the morning,” He lifted his arms, grabbing one behind his head as he stretched. “Why do I need to be up so early, Coach? The others won’t get up for at least three hours.”

Coach Kudou smirked; Yoru could swear he saw laughter in his eyes. “You want to learn about the other teams, don’t you? That means you need to get moving so the others don’t find out.”

Yoru huffed, frowning slightly as Kudou left the room. If this was how Yoru’s mornings were going to look from now on, he was not impressed. Still, he got up and got dressed, sneaking downstairs so he didn’t wake anyone up.

“Alright, so what are we doing?” He sighed, rubbing his eyes free of sleep. Coach Kudou chuckled.

“Well, first, breakfast.” Kudou went into the kitchen and Yoru suddenly found he was wide awake. Did his coach— this strict man who never smiled— just _chuckle_?

He had to still be half asleep.

Stunned, Yoru followed Kudou into the kitchen. The grown man opened the cabinets, moving things around. “Are you allowed to have coffee, or would you prefer tea?”

“Coffee’s good… Um, do you want me to help make something…?”

Coach Kudou nodded, and even though Yoru was a little put off by the odd 180 in their coach’s behavior— he was smiling, laughing, and his voice actually sounded like he _cared_ , what on earth—he helped him make breakfast and ate it with him before they started Yoru’s training.

By the time the others came down for breakfast, Yoru was ready for a nap.

Kudou had been telling him all sorts of things, cramming all kinds of information into his head, and frankly, it was just. Too. _Early._

Thankfully, now that the others were waking up, Yoru could have a break long enough for his brain to start functioning again. Not to mention, finish the list for Kudou before giving the team some tips they might be able to utilize in their practice.

Now though, Yoru was currently sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria and stretched out across it like somehow, that would make the exhaustion go away.

“Yukimura, are you okay?” Gouenji asked when he walked in, the first of the players to rise for the day.

Yoru didn’t even lift his head as he gave the boy a thumb’s up and a muffled, “Uh-huh.”

“How long have you been awake?” Kidou asked as he walked into the room as well. Yoru sighed as he lifted his head a bit so he could look at the group of the earliest risers on the team.

“Firstly,” He started, pointing his index finger into the air, “I’d like to say that I would not be this tired had it not been information overload.” He lifted another finger. “Secondly, I’ve been awake for almost exactly three hours.” He stated before letting his head fall back onto the table. “Coach Kudou’s practically cramming all sorts of information down my throat.”

“Why so early, though?”

“I don’t know.” Yoru lied with easy, adding a long groan to the words. He lifted his head and propped his chin on his hand. “It’s so much information, too. He’s almost ruthless.”

He didn’t add how, at first, Kudou took the time to explain every little detail he told Yoru about the teams in the Asia preliminaries more than once when Yoru’s brain was still too slow to function properly from the early wake up call. How he smiled and laughed and was actually, surprisingly, kind through it all until the girls had come down to get started on the team’s breakfast and he snapped back into that stern coach who didn’t slow down to let you catch up. Thankfully, Yoru had already woken up and he was good to go at that point, so his notebook was quickly filling with all kinds of notes.

“He’s a good coach though. A little unorthodox, sure, but good.” He assured the group with a small smile. “He means well.”

\----

Yoru felt a little less sure about their coach as the day went on.

It was one thing to know why Coach was doing what he was doing, and a whole other thing to watch him do it.

Seeing Coach Kudou praise Fudou for being rough and even a little dirty in his plays made Yoru’s skin crawl. What if one of them got hurt? Maybe it was useful in a match, but it had no reason to exist during practice.

By the time the sun was setting, it was clear Kudou was making it seem like Fudou was a favorite of his, and Yoru wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

It sparked animosity across the team due to Kidou’s anger and the others’ doubts from True Teikoku, which made it harder for the atmosphere to ease into something far more pleasant to train in.

He understood the unease due to his own history with Watanabe, but it felt worse with Fudou for some reason. Like they weren’t giving Fudou a chance, even if he was cocky and rude.

Maybe Yoru just hoped Fudou wasn’t another Watanabe.

Yoru hummed as Toramaru left practice early, wondering just what was keeping him from staying. It couldn’t simply be that he struggled to sleep away from home, could it? That wouldn’t bode well after the preliminaries.

As practice started up again, Yoru bit his lip. What was Kudou’s goal in showing favoritism to Fudou? Was it to make the others try harder?

Midorikawa kept dribbling the ball instead of passing it to Tsunami, giving Fubuki the perfect chance to knock the ball out of bounds.

“Hey, Midorikawa. What do you think you were trying to do?” Tsunami questioned, “I asked you to pass.”

Yoru frowned as Midorikawa huffed, walking away from Tsunami without answering.

All Kudou’s favoritism was really doing, was causing a rift.

\------

The next day was practically the same; Yoru was woken up at an ungodly hour of the morning, Kudou gave him a cram session on the Asian teams before taking a break, followed by a morning and afternoon of more things a coach did and helping the team start learning to better avoid slides and tackles.

It might not have seemed like much, but Yoru’s mind had taken to almost constantly running as it tried to process and learn more and more information, and he could honestly say that he was 100% being worked just as hard as the others; it just happened to be in a different way.

That afternoon, though, Otonashi and Megane told them something interesting.

“Coach Kudou ended the soccer club?” Endou repeated, surprised.

Otonashi nodded. “There’s no doubt about it. We found out about it in the Soccer Association’s reference room.”

“Soccer Association?” Aki asked Megane, who fiddled with his hands as he tried to explain just how they managed to do that. Yoru frowned.

“Ten years ago, Coach Kudou was the coach for Sakurazaki Junior High.”

“Sakurazaki Junior High?”

“Yes. That year, Sakurazaki Junior High had been winning the Football Frontier prelims with wide point spreads. But right before the finals, Coach Kudou caused an accident and the team had to withdraw.”

Yoru clenched his jaw, eyes narrowing. That must be the cause of the guilt in Kudou’s glow.

“There weren’t any specific details in the records, however. We looked into information about Sakurazaki Junior High’s coach after that… and we came across a strange rumor. ‘Kudou Michiya is a cursed coach’, they say.”

Yoru’s frown only deepened. Were they supposed to base their opinions on Coach Kudou around unspecified reasons and rumors?

“I still think he’s ultimately going to be good for this team.” Yoru said, leaning against the wall. The others looked at him, surprise in their eyes. “We don’t know all the facts. What was the accident? Was it really Kudou’s fault, or did he take the fall for his students? Why is Kudou cursed?” Yoru listed off his points idly with his hand, holding out a finger with each one.

“How are you so certain, though? Coach Kudou’s…” Kidou trailed off, not wanting to voice what he thought. Yoru sighed, this time raising his hand and bringing back in all his fingers.

“He loves soccer,” Yoru began, lifting a finger, “He wants us to succeed, hence why he’s so stern. Judging by the fact his school had been winning by a large margin, we can also assume that he’s good at what he does. His glow is covered with guilt and wanting to right some sort of wrong.”

“Wouldn’t that mean he did cause the accident, though?” Hijikata asked, frowning in thought.

Yoru shrugged. “I feel guilty over plenty of things that were out of my control.” He said, straight to the point and not caring much for beating around the bush. “Don’t you ever feel like that?”

Shirou nodded solemnly beside him, knowing exactly what Yoru meant while murmurs of unease swept through the rest of the team. Though it was fair, the rest of the team still clearly had their doubts about Kudou, especially now they knew the rumor.

Yoru was going to stand firm, though. Kudou was a good coach, if only a little rough around the edges. The fact of the matter was that whatever he was doing worked, and in the end just because he was training them, it didn’t mean they had to agree with everything he did.

\----

“ _To all soccer fans in the nation, good evening._ ”

Yoru rested his head on his arms, looking at the tv and watching with just as much apprehension as the rest of the team. Tonight, they would find out who it was they were going to be playing in the first round of the Asia preliminaries.

“ _First is Korea’s national team, Fire Dragon, to draw_.” The announcer on the tv said, and the coach for Korea’s team walked up to draw his team’s line up. Yoru ran through what Coach Kidou had instilled into his brain, noting their strengths and the weaknesses Inazuma Japan had against them. “ _Fire Dragon, 3-A. Next is Australia. The ever-strong Big Waves is representing this country,_ ”

“From what I remember, Australia and Korea are both lined up as favorites for the championship.” Otonashi murmured, eyes never leaving the screen. Yoru nodded, mentally noting their strengths and weaknesses as well.

“ _Big Waves, 1-B. Qatar’s national team, Desert Lion, 2-B. Saudi Arabia’s national team, The Barracuda, 4-B. Next is Japan’s team, Inazuma Japan’s draw!”_

Yoru sat up a little straighter, reaching into his pocket to pull out the small notebook he had stashed there for this very reason. The moment their spot was announced, Yoru wrote down their opponent at the top of the page in big letters.

**_BIG WAVES_ **

Beneath the team name, Yoru quickly jotted down what they were known for and closed the notebook before anyone else could see.

They had their opponent. Now, they just had to train for them.

“This won’t go over well with the others.” Yoru mentioned the next morning, when he and Kudou were having breakfast together as what was steadily becoming the usual. “I really think we should at least give them an hour each day to work on being an actual team. They might actually be getting along _worse_ than before, if I may say so, because of you talking to Fudou so much.”

“If I let them out of their rooms to practice, then they won’t practice at all.”

“Or…” Yoru began slowly, knowing he was probably pushing things by suggesting this so early, “You _could_ just tell them why they are confined to the building. Just like you _could_ have elaborated on why you were pushing Kabeyama so hard.”

Kudou sighed, setting down his chopsticks. “I know you don’t like how I do things, Yukimura, but I’ve always found it’s better to let the players figure out what they are supposed to do on their own.”

“Kabeyama nearly quit the team, and this isn’t going to help raise your likeability, Coach Kudou.” Yoru argued, “Ever since they found out about the rumor calling you a cursed coach, you’ve been walking on very thin ice.”

Kudou stood up, another heavy sigh leaving his lips and no room for argument in his eyes. “I’m doing this the way I want to. You can help them however you want, but I do _not_ want you explicitly stating why they cannot leave the building.”

Yoru sighed. “Yes sir.” He mumbled before cleaning up their breakfast things and following Kudou out to the common room for his next lesson.

\----

“No practicing…?” Endou murmured in disbelief. Yoru gave the group a sympathetic smile.

“This is an order.” Kudou calmly replied, unfazed by the growing dislike that reverberated through the air. “For the two days before our match against Australia, I won’t let you leave the training camp hall.”

“Coach Kudou, what do you mean?” Kidou asked, ever the calm in a storm.

“Exactly what I’m saying.”

“We’ve only recently been convened together as Japan’s nationals. As a team, we’re not ready! We should use these two days to enhance our team’s combination plays.”

“I’m the coach. You _will_ obey my orders.” Kudou finished, no room left for argument even though Yoru was sure at least one of them would try.

Yoru stepped forward, giving the team a placating smile. “We never said you couldn’t train. Just not that you can leave the building.”

He bit back a small sigh at the confused looks everyone but Fudou gave him, but he didn’t explain any further. Hopefully they’d get the idea before long.

As Couch Kudou left them alone, Yoru could already see realization dawning in some of the team’s eyes. He smiled, relieved. “Each of you have your own personal rooms. You can move in and out of them as you please, you just can’t leave the building.” He paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. “There _is_ a reason he’s doing this, you know.” He added, before leaving the room as well.

In his own room, he went to the desk and opened the notebook sitting on top, sighing as he looked at the mostly empty page before him.

**_BIG WAVES_ **

_**Strength: Box Lock Defense, Megalodon** _

_**Weakness: ???** _

_**Break Box Lock first. When that’s been broken, their plays start to fall apart.** _

**_Train team by confining them to their room. From there, it’s up to them._ **

Yoru groaned, grabbing the notebook and sitting on his bed. He propped the notebook on his knees, stared at the pages for a few minutes, and then began writing.

_**Kidou should be the first to figure it out on the field. If not him, one of the strikers. Find any openings you can and relay them ASAP to Kudou.** _

He paused, hearing footsteps pass through the hall, and Yoru had to let out a soft laugh. “Of course some of them are going to try sneaking out.” He said to himself, rolling his eyes with a smile. “Endou, especially.”

A knock on his door came a few moments later; Yoru looked over at it. “Come in!”

The door opened and Shirou poked his head in, smiling. “Mind if I join you for a bit?” He asked.

Yoru smiled, changing the page in his notebook so Shirou didn’t see the page on Big Waves. “Come right on in, Shirou.” He laughed, smiling and moving to the side so Shirou could sit next to him on the bed. “Didn’t feel like practicing yet? I saw you realize what I was suggesting.”

Shirou walked over and sat down next to him, sighing softly. “Not yet. I figured I’d do it in a little bit. How do you have so much faith in this coach?” Shirou asked softly, pressing against Yoru’s side. Yoru hummed, setting his notebook aside.

“It’s because he explains things to me more than he does you guys.” He said with a small sigh. “Kabeyama needs to be prepared for a day where the only option may be bringing the ball up the pitch himself. Australia is strong in ways we don’t yet know how to handle. Why he doesn’t tell you what you are up against, I don’t think I’ll ever know.”

“Can you tell us?” Shirou asked softly; Yoru shook his head, smiling apologetically.

“Sorry, I’m under the same ‘do as I say’ rules as you guys, for the most part.” Yoru said, “All the sway I have is under avoidance training and strategies during games.”

Shirou hummed, taking Yoru’s hand and lacing their fingers together. Yoru smiled. “I can’t _wait_ to see his face when you start pointing out all types of things.” He said with a small laugh. “He’s going to be so surprised to see that your ability is real.”

Yoru laughed, rolling his eyes a little bit. “You know, the more we mention my ability the more I feel like a secret weapon.” He teased. “No one else in the world tournament has a kid like me on their side.”

“It’s no different from you being like our strategist on the field.” Shirou reassured confidently, smiling at Yoru. He was quiet for a moment, before quietly adding, “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Yoru smiled, nuzzling Shirou. “Me too, Shirou… I couldn’t imagine helping a team to the world without you there with me.”

Shirou blushed lightly at that, laughing shyly. “Sometimes I forget how sincere you are when you say things like that.”

Yoru chuckled, bumping their shoulders together. “I thought you were used to it already?”

“I’ll never be used to it.”

“To be fair, I’ll never be used to you making my heart skip a beat, either.” Yoru hummed, grinning and laughing as Shirou only blushed brighter and gave Yoru’s shoulder a half-hearted shove. “Well it’s true!”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“It’s _cute_.”

Shirou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

“One of these days, I’m going to be the one making you blush.” He promised, a small smile forming as he spoke. “Just you wait.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Yoru agreed, and he really meant it. If Shirou could make his heart melt now, when he only needed to smile, chances are the moment he got good at flirting, Yoru was a dead man.

In the silence that followed, Yoru heard the others walking back to their rooms. “They realize Coach Kudou is never going to let them out unless he gives them permission, right?”

Shirou laughed. “It’s Captain. He’s going to keep trying until he finally gets fed up with sitting around.”

Yoru nodded in agreement. “He’ll figure it out. Everyone here’s either passionate or smart enough to realize they should just train in their rooms.”

\----

After lunch, Yoru stayed to talk with the others for a bit.

Kudou wasn’t keeping him busy with all sorts of lessons while the others were confined to their rooms, because it risked the rest either overhearing or being able to sneak past as long as Kudou was distracted.

“Everyone!!!” Yoru looked to the door, watching as Megane skid to a stop with a disk held high in the air. “I’ve obtained information on Australia’s Big Waves!”

Yoru raised an eyebrow as the others let out excited shouts; how did Megane manage to do that within 24 hours of knowing they were the opponent? Kudou kept all the information he knew under so tight a lock and key, Yoru didn’t even know where he got it from.

Megane adjusted his glasses, placing a hand on his hip and looking smug. “Allow me to show you my skills in information harvesting!”

Megane put the disk into the DVD player on the tv after the team gathered to watch it, the screen counting down as it loaded.

Yoru’s eyes widened as the video began to play. There was no mistaking it: Megane had captured footage of Australia’s team. Currently the team was stretching, getting ready to start practice.

The team watched closely, leaning forward.

“What sort of plays do they do?” Endou murmured.

Yoru held his breath, watching as the team headed out onto the field. The captain, a tall blond, nodded to one of the forwards, who nodded in return. The next second, the forward turned, kicking the ball at Megane’s camera.

The footage cut out, making Yoru’s shoulders slump. He’d actually started getting his hopes up that Megane managed to capture footage of Big Waves, but of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

The footage restarted. The short, feminine boy with long green hair— Reef, if Yoru remembered correctly— leapt into the air, spiking a volleyball. It cut to him scoring a point before cutting to a crowd of cheering girls. Yoru smacked a hand to his face as the others all fell apart from their focus, surprised by the change in video.

“Megane…” Endou began, “What’s this?”

“As you would expect in a fight between two countries, it’s quite difficult to obtain information on other national teams.” Megane replied, zealous. “Nevertheless, I, Megane, am not the sort of man who gives up easily! Even if I can’t record their plays, I got scenes of them playing at the beach!”

Yoru chuckled, almost feeling sorry for the younger male’s pride. “Megane, that’s great and all, but… we can’t really use this information?”

“There’s no point in watching, then.” Fudou commented.

“Aren’t you kind of useless?”

Yoru winced, feeling pain from Fuyuka’s words even when they weren’t directed at him. As sweet and demure as her voice was, she certainly didn’t hold back on her words.

“We don’t have video, but we’ve also found some information.” Aki explained, stepping forward with Otonashi.

“The Big Waves are apparently men of the ocean.” Otonashi said as the team got up from where they’d gathered.

“Then ocean?” Tsunami repeated.

Otonashi nodded, “They’re a team that has trained both their minds and bodies against the ocean. Their defensive ability in particular is strong, and they have an unknown tactics that can completely block any sort of attack.”

Tsunami grinned. “Sounds interesting.” He commented, determination in his eyes. Yoru smiled, thinking of another note he needed to add once he could check his notebook.

“Completely block any sort of attack?”

“We don’t know what sort of tactics it is, but unless we take it down, winning will be difficult.”

Endou’s jaw set with determination, their captain bringing fists into the air. “The more I listen to this, the more I can’t sit still!” He exclaimed, “We’ve got to practice!” Endou darted from the cafeteria, letting out a startled grunt a moment later.

Yoru looked around the door, seeing that Endou was stopped by Coach Kudou.

It didn’t take long for everyone to go back to their rooms, Yoru helping the girls clean up from lunch before he made his way up the stairs. Most rooms were silent, but some had the sounds of practice filtering through the door.

Yoru grabbed his notebook, quickly flipping to the page he had on Big Waves.

_**Big Waves are men of ocean** _

_**Tsunami is the king of the ocean** _

A loud whoop caught Yoru’s ears, and he looked out the window to see Tsunami running from the training camp with his head held high. Yoru laughed, leaning back against the wall. 

“He’s going to be our trump card for sure.” He hummed, doodling a wave next to the new section of notes he added. “After all, nothing can stop a tsunami.”


	39. Chapter 38: Got a Secret

Movement coming towards the training center caught Yoru’s eyes, making him look outside. A group of kids walked over to Aki, their postures saying nothing good. Aki spoke to them, but it barely took her a few words before the one with orange hair started shouting for Tobitaka. Yoru frowned, worry starting to settle in his chest. He set his notebook on his bed, quickly heading downstairs to give the girl some back-up if she needed it.

“Hey, is there a problem?” Yoru asked, walking over and crossing his arms over his chest.

Aki whirled to face him, eyes wide. “Yukimura! These guys say they want to see Tobitaka, but…”

Yoru nodded, sighing. “Tobitaka isn’t allowed out of the building without Coach Kudou’s permission. Why do you need to see him?” He asked, using the chance to check the group’s glows.

“It’s none of your business why we need him!” The thin one with orange hair huffed. Yoru hummed, more focused on their glows now that orange-hair made it clear he wasn’t going to tell Yoru what they wanted. When he noticed none of them were bad or violent, he relaxed.

“Tobitaka can’t come outside unless given permission.” Yoru explained, ignoring Aki’s worried yelp. He understood her worry, but he was confident it wasn’t going to be needed with these four even if they acted intimidating. “I can’t get him that permission if you don’t tell us what you want him for and stop shouting.”

Orange-hair ignored Yoru completely, instead cupping his hands around his mouth and once more shouting for Tobitaka.

“Keep your voice down, Suzume.” Tobitaka commanded, voice stronger than Yoru had yet to hear from the off-putting defender. Seeing that the person to handle the situation had arrived, Yoru stepped back, letting Tobitaka be front and center to Suzume’s attention.

“Tobitaka, we need to talk. You’ll come with us, won’t you?”

Without another word Tobitaka left with the group, making Yoru sigh and rub the back of his neck. He looked at Aki when Tobitaka and the group were out of sight, “You know, if he just _talked_ to them and explained what was happening, I think things would be going a lot more smoothly between them.”

“You think they were his friends?” Aki asked, looking at Yoru with concern and confusion in her eyes.

Yoru shrugged. “I mean, they didn’t seem like bad kids… it’s just a hunch, but I think if Tobitaka is as secretive with them as he is us… there’s probably some sort of misunderstanding happening.”

“Aki! Yukimura!” Endou called, causing the two to look up at the window. “Who were they?”

“They said they had business with Tobitaka.” Aki explained worriedly, causing Endou and Kidou to tense before running for the stairs. Yoru sighed, shaking his head. Really, it was sweet how they always wanted to help, but some things should be left alone unless it needed to be handled otherwise.

Of course, to them, it probably seemed like it was the latter.

Since Yoru was already downstairs, he helped Aki with cleaning. It didn’t take up much time, since there wasn’t much cleaning to actually do, but it kept both of them occupied for about an hour and that was good enough for Yoru. Above them, the rest of the team was quickly starting to do their own training.

Both managers jumped as the sound of a wall shattering came from overhead, exchanging worried glances. They ran upstairs, checking which room the crash came from and making sure Kabeyama and Kogure were alright.

When everyone came down for dinner, they looked as exhausted as they did after a regular training session. It made Yoru grin: they were going to beat Box-lock defense for sure.

\------

Yoru almost wasn’t sure how to feel during the opening ceremony for the Asian Prelims.

On the one hand, he was so incredibly proud of his friends for being chosen to do something as amazing as fighting the world, but on the other…

He couldn’t stop the small seed of jealousy from planting in the hole Watanabe had torn back open in his chest.

He wanted to be out there with them, actually be a part of the team again instead of just as a manager, and it was only made worse by the fact he wasn’t sure the outcome would have changed even if he was in the age range to play.

Yoru wondered if Touko and Rika felt the same way—they were just as strong as the boys on this team, but it wasn’t a mixed tournament. They didn’t seem too upset, though, so maybe it was just him.

It didn’t take much longer for the field to clear so the first match could get underway, and Coach Kudou announced the starting eleven.

“Forwards: Gouenji, Fubuki, Kiyama. Midfielders: Kidou, Kazemaru, Midorikawa. Defenders: Kabeyama, Tsunami, Hijikata, Kogure. And goal keeper/captain for this game will be Endou.”

Yoru smiled as Shirou and Tsunami were picked as starting members, a little surprised to see Kudou hadn’t chosen Fudou. Was there a reason he showed favoritism towards practice but didn’t put him into the match?

Yoru pushed the thought away, instead looking at Shirou and Tsunami. “Good luck out there, you guys!”

Both players nodded, fire and excitement in their eyes before they ran out onto the pitch with the rest of the team.

When the whistle blew, Yoru activated his ability.

Similar to Tsunami, a lot of Australia’s players had a grand mix of blues in their glows, though where Tsunami’s was literally like a sunny day at the beach, plenty of Big Waves’ players had more unpleasant sparks here and there. Yoru frowned; where was the modesty?

The captain of Big Waves gave the players a subtle nod much like he had before capturing whatever Megane had used to try and capture footage. Three of the other players nodded in return, running for Kidou.

Yoru’s eyes widened; Box-Lock Defense was in play.

“This is… the hissatsu tactics that’s said to completely block any sort of attack.” Megane gasped, staring at the field with unease.

Yoru hummed, getting up from his seat and sitting down next to Kudou instead. His gaze dropped to the feet of the players performing Box-Lock Defense, watching how they moved. He could feel Kudou’s unspoken question in the air; he chuckled.

“No matter how unbeatable something looks, there’s always going to be gaps. You just have to find them. My sight may be way better than normal, but it never hurts to get closer.”

Kudou let out an unimpressed hum than Yoru ignored in favor of switching focus points as the ball was stolen from Kidou.

Tsunami and Hijikata both ran for the loose ball, causing Yoru to wince as they crashed into each other. “See, that right there is why I feel like an hour or two of outside training would have been a good idea.” He sighed, placing his elbows on his knees and chin in his hands.

The forward who cut out Megane’s feed had the ball, rushing towards Inazuma Japan’s goal. When he got close enough he let out a shout, shooting the powerful Megalodon.

Yoru let out an impressed whistle as Megalodon broke through Fist of Justice: men of the ocean they were.

Still, Yoru knew they had nothing on Tsunami.

“The world level is amazing!”

“Looks like I’ll be playing sooner than I thought.”

Yoru felt his eye twitch from Fudou’s words, a mix of distaste and simple annoyance sparking to life in his chest. Really, it was almost amazing how cocky Fudou was, but at least he had the nerve to show it. Yoru would rather have that then a second Watanabe any day.

“This is awesome!” Endou cheered, catching the team’s attention. “I’m fired up to get a chance to fight against these awesome guys!”

The unease that had been forming over the team disappeared almost immediately, replaced with fondness and their own excitement. Yoru chuckled.

It was just like Endou to bring up their determination without even trying.

When Box-Lock Defense was once again in play, instead of looking at their feet Yoru moved to the faces of the players. Was there a quirk they could utilize? Some unspoken calling card to what move they were about to make next?

Again and again, Big Waves stole the ball using Box-Lock defense while Endou protected the goal. Yoru’s frown deepened the longer it went on; there very little openings in Box-Lock Defense, and it wasn’t like Yoru could shout out where they were when he did find them.

Yoru groaned, running a hand through his hair and momentarily deactivating his ability. “Even when I see the openings, I can’t tell the others about them or they’ll completely close up.” He huffed, frustrated that Kudou had been right when he told Yoru about Box-Lock Defense’s key. It really was all up to each person trapped inside to unlock it themselves. Yoru could see Kidou getting just as annoyed over the tactics, but he was sure part of it was full of doubts about Kudou’s methods, too.

Kudou sighed, eyes hardening as he looked back out at the field. “Don’t you get it yet?” He called, speaking for the first time since the players when out onto the pitch. “The key to the box…” Kudou pointed to his chest, “Is inside yourselves!”

Yoru hummed, activating his ability once again as Kidou was trapped in Box-Lock Defense. He could see the moment Kidou realized what Kudou’s words meant, and he grinned as Kidou broke through their defenses with ease.

 Now that the tactics had been broken through once, it didn’t take long for the others to figure it out themselves and join in. Yoru glanced away from the match as Kudou told the others to warm up, wondering what his plan was going to be.

Yoru still wasn’t quite sure what the difference in Inazuma Japan’s players would make towards land-trained reserve players; in the end, they all trained for Box-Lock defense.

Were there individual talents Yoru wasn’t aware of? Or was it simply to keep Big Waves on their toes?

Yoru felt the color drain from his face as Kidou dropped to the ground after getting caught between two consecutive tackles.

Or maybe it was so Inazuma’s reserve players would be ready to replace anyone who got hurt.

Yoru’s heart was in his throat when Kidou stood back up, trying to play off the fact his ankle was probably killing him. Like Yoru was afraid of, Kidou barely took a step as the play started back up before he was grabbing his ankle in pain.

The whistle ending the first half blew, and Endou helped Kidou off the field.

 Aki bandaged Kidou’s ankle, Kidou inhaling sharply as she apparently touched it wrong. Her hand flew from his ankle and she looked at Kudou. “He can’t  play for the rest of the match.”

“I’m fine with this!”

“Don’t you dare pull that crap,” Yoru hissed, balling his hands into fists at his side. “You couldn’t even step on that foot without collapsing.”

“Kidou, I’m switching you out.”

Kidou looked down, mumbling “Yes, sir.”

“We’ll go from the head in the second half. Toramaru.”

“Y-Yes, sir!” Toramaru straightened his stance, nervousness coating his glow almost completely. “I hope I can play to all of your expectations.”

“You’ll do great, Toramaru,” Yoru reassured, giving the young boy a smile. “Just stay calm and have fun.”

As second half was about to start, Kudou called the players together. “Here are the orders for the second half. Fubuki, hang in the lower middle and trim off the opponent’s attacks. Toramaru, take over Kidou’s position.”

“Is it okay for me to take up that important position?”

“You can do it.” Kudou assured.

 Tsunami grinned from beside Toramaru, pointing to the other defenders on the field. “Well, take it lightly. We’ll be there behind you.”

“And Tsunami,”

Tsunami tensed, “A-Are you switching me out too?” He asked, voice surprisingly soft from worry.

Kudou gave Tsunami a stern look, “Tsunami, it seems you disobeyed my orders and went out for training.”

Tsunami paled at the discovery, stumbling for a response before settling on, “You knew….?”

“Tsunami, score the goal,” Kudou said simply, “With your new hissatsu technique.”

Tsunami gasped. “You knew about that?” The others let out surprised sounds at the revelation. Tsunami lowered his gaze. “But it’s not complete at all.”

“It’s not completely because you haven’t envisioned it in your head.” Kudou explained, tapping the side of his head much like when Yoru tapped beneath his eyes when talking. “You should know what kind of hissatsu technique you need to defeat them.” Kudou pointed to the soccer pitch. “The hint is on the field. Every person has their own stage somewhere. Go! Show them that the ocean is _yours_!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yoru sat down in the grass again as the players went back out onto the field, chuckling as Tsunami ended up sinking to the ground in an attempt to find the hint.

The second half started, and Yoru was immediately impressed by Toramaru. He hadn’t really been able to focus on him during the selections match because he was too overwhelmed by Watanabe, but now he could see that Toramaru was a force to be reckoned with.

At least, he would be if that leeching timidness of his would go away.

“Wow,” He commented, eyes following Toramaru across the field. “He’s probably better than I was at his age; his soccer senses are all 100% instinct.”

Toramaru leapt into the air with the ball, passing it to Gouenji. Gouenji used Bakunetsu Storm, but was stopped by Big Waves’ Great Barrier Reef hissatsu. Yoru bit his lip, smiling as he noticed Tsunami smirk. Seems like Tsunami figured something out.

The second half continued to be full of back-and-forth plays, Midorikawa eventually managing to slip past and shoot. Once again it was stopped by Great Barrier Reef, but this time Tsunami seemed to have found the answer he needed.

Toramaru stole the ball, passing it to Tsunami as he ran forward. Tsunami let out a shout, leaping onto the ball as  waves seemed to form around him. Yoru smiled; seemed like no matter if they were on land or in water, Tsunami found a way to ride the waves.

Tsunami kicked the ball, a powerful gust of wind parting the waves that surrounded it. Even from here it didn’t seem like it would hold; something was missing. Tsunami’s shoot dug into the side of Great Barrier Reef, slowing to a stop almost immediately.

Big Waves managed to keep the ball, starting a counterattack that led to Megalodon being shot once again. Yoru watched as Endou closed his eyes, not that surprised by the action like the others seemed to be. Closing the eyes heightened the senses; Endou probably figured out a way to tell where the ball was and go from there.

Yoru smiled, watching as Megalodon was sent flying back. Tsunami leapt into the air once more, giant waves forming around him as he landed on the ball. Tsunami launched into an aerial with the ball, a tower of water following him before he spun in the opposite direction and shot the ball towards the goal, the waves turning into a typhoon around him.

The ball dug against Great Barrier Reef, the rotation causing it to break through with little problems.

“The Typhoon!” Megane declared, adjusting his glasses as the whistle blew. Yoru leapt to his feet, letting out a happy shout as Aki and Otonashi also cheered.

“I knew he was the king of the ocean!” Yoru exclaimed with a laugh.

“Coach Kudou!” The excitement in their little bubble froze, replaced with silence as everyone turned to look at Kidou.

“We’ve been able to fight evenly against Australia because of your command. You’re not the type of coach who renders a team useless: what happened at Sakurazaki Junior High?”

“There’s no need for you to know.” Kudou shut down the topic, walking away from the group to be closer to the pitch.

Hibiki stepped forward to explain instead, and Yoru stepped away as well. As curious as Yoru was to know the answer, he also knew how Kudou felt; if he didn’t want them to know, Yoru wasn’t going to listen to the answer.

Australia switch out another midfielder, this one marking Tsunami and copying his every move. It didn’t take long for Tsunami to break through, and Toramaru back-passed the ball to him.

Tsunami was swarmed before he could get too far, though, and he passed the ball to Kabeyama. There was a pretty big problem, though; everyone was blocked.

Yoru’s eyes widened as the player blocking Hijikata smirked. “Kabeyama! You need to get moving!”

Kabeyama whimpered as Megalodon’s shooter ran for the ball, turning and running as well. “What should I do?” Kabeyama cried.

“Bring it up yourself!” Kudou shouted.

Kabeyama’s eyes widened as if remembering he could do that, and with a shout he dribbled the ball past Megalodon’s shooter and passed it to Toramaru.

Toramaru dribbled the ball up, bringing his leg back to shoot. His glow flared, the passion shrinking in place of clever timidness.

The player marking Gouenji went after the ball and Toramaru leapt into the air, dodging the tackle, before passing to Gouenji.

A ribbon of fire exploded from Gouenji’s left foot as he leapt into the air, a ring of fire exploding around the ball as it collected the flames. Like an explosive comet the new shoot burned through Great Barrier Reef, scoring Inazuma Japan their second point as it knocked the Goalie into the net.

The second half ended not even a minute later, the long whistle echoing through the stadium. Yoru grinned, laughter bubbling his throat as the crowds around them went wild.

\----

_“Yukimura!”_

  _Yoru pushed himself further, grinning through his pants as he connected with Iya’s pass. He breezed past the other team’s defense, excitement thrumming through it._

_“Shirou!”_

_Yoru moved to kick the ball to his boyfriend, freezing in place when he noticed Shirou wasn’t there._

_He bit his lip. “Ki—” He looked over to his other side, eyes widening when he saw Kitami wasn’t there either. He whirled around, eyes widening when he saw everyone standing at the other side of the field, heads down._

_“…Shirou…? Guys…? Hey, what’s wrong?”_

_“Why does everyone look at you?” Shirou mumbled, bangs covering his eyes._

_“We work just as hard as you, why are you the one getting the attention?” Kitami asked, causing Yoru’s heart to lodge in his throat._

_He turned to face the team fully, giving them a nervous smile. “W-What are you talking about? Shirou, you score more than I do, don’t you?”_

_“But_ you’re _the one getting all the attention!” Hyoujou hissed from beside Kitami, leveling Yoru with an angry glare as he mocked, “’Yukimura Yoru at it again! Hakuren’s Northern Star points the way to victory!’”_

_Yoru flinched, looking down. “I’m just doing what I’m told.” He murmured, “I thought I was helping.”_

_“Then maybe you should just stop playing! We don’t need your help!”_

_“Yeah, we have enough players without having an attention hog like you on the team!”_

_Yoru shrunk from Hakuren’s glares, mouth running dry. “I-I didn’t ask for—”_

_“You’re such a liar.”_

_Yoru felt his heart turn to ash, looking at Shirou with wide eyes. “S-Shirou…?”_

_Shirou glared at him, angrier than Yoru had ever seen. “No one buys it, Yukimura; always acting modest, when in reality you’re thrive in the spotlight… You don’t even care who you have to push aside to get it.”_

_“What? No, I—”_

_“Spare me the act!” Shirou spat. “What else were you faking? Our relationship? Your excitement over FFI? You’re a liar and always have been!”_

_Yoru flinched, covering his ears with his hands. He shook his head, tears in his eyes. ”No! No, I wasn’t lying!”_

_“There you go again, lying right to my face.” Shirou clicked his tongue, shaking his head and raising his hands in a shrug. He grinned down at Yoru, eyes flashing as he gave Yoru a shark-toothed grin. “What would your family, think, hm? They’re precious little Yoru, a manipulative liar.”_

_“I’m not lying!” Yoru cried._

_“Then why fight so hard to keep Watanabe away, hm? Afraid he’d tell the others the truth?” Shirou’s voice changed, replaced with a menacing, painfully familiar one._

_Yoru felt the air leave his lungs, tears falling from his eyes. He slowly lifted his head, staring into the blood red eyes of a hungry shark._

_“That’s right,” The shark caressed, grin widening, “You know the truth. And you know the others will drop you like you were nothing.”_

_Yoru felt like he couldn’t breathe, water rushing around him and pulling him under. The shark grew, slipping behind him with ease._

_“You’re such an ugly creature, Yuki… No one would want you if they knew the truth, would they? Not even your precious Prince. And then you’d be aaaaaaaallllll alone, left to rot at the bottom of your muddy little lake.”_

_Yoru tried to speak, but water filled his lungs, choking him and causing him to sink even further. A rush of bubbles streamed from his mouth, faint movement in the murky distance the only warning he had before sharp, jagged rows of teeth engulfed him whole._

A scream died on Yoru’s lips as he shot upright, cold sweat drenching his t-shirt and sending shivers down his spine. It didn’t take long for him to realize he was in his room at Raimon’s training complex, and his whole body ached. He tore his sheets away, too hot even as shivers wracked his body. He wheezed, curling into a ball as he tried to feel anything but pain and dizzy and like he was covered in blood.

Tears filled his eyes, blurring his vision as he hugged himself even tighter. “It’s not my fault.” He croaked, breath shuddering with a hiccup.

 “I’m not a liar…”

\-------

“Yukimura, time to—”

Yoru looked up at the sound of his name, blinking slowly at Coach Kudou from where he stood in Yoru’s doorway. Kudou’s visible eyes was wide, his words dead on his tongue.

Really, it only made Yoru feel worse. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep after the nightmare, and he was pretty sure he looked like hell. He really didn’t need his coach stupefied by the result.

“Are you okay?”

“Peachy,” Yoru mumbled, getting out of his bed and making for the door. He’d change after breakfast and a shower.

Kudou was silent through breakfast, which normally wouldn’t have bothered Yoru if it wasn’t for the fact he knew exactly why.

The rest of the morning was a blur, made easier only by Shirou’s comforting presence during breaks. A headache had steadily started to form about halfway through Kudou’s afternoon lessons, dragging Yoru even further into a sleepy, unfocused mess that really, just wanted to shut out the world for a while.

“Alright,” Kudou said, setting down his own notebook. “That’s enough for today.”

Yoru looked up at him, blinking. He glanced down at his notes, cheeks turning bright red when he saw that he’d gone from neat and precise writing to complete gibberish. He dropped his head onto the pages, groaning. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Kudou sighed. “For now just go back upstairs and try to get some sleep. Your duties are done for today.”

“Yes sir.” Yoru mumbled, rubbing his temples. He wished he knew why today’s nightmare-induced blue was so much worse than it usually was, though he had a feeling he already knew. He stood up, closing his notebook and making his way upstairs.

The moment he made it to his bedroom, Yoru faceplanted on the bed and was out cold.

\-----

Warm.

A hand ran through Yoru’s hair, stirring him from sleep. Moonlight streamed through the window, making him wonder just how long he’d been sleeping.

“You feeling any better, Yuki?”

Shirou’s soft voice caused Yoru to let out a small sigh as he rolled onto his side, wrapping an arm around Shirou’s waist and pressing closer.

“I guess so,” He mumbled, earning a small hum.

“Want me to stay with you tonight?”

Yoru nodded, burying his head in Shirou’s stomach. “…Yes please.” He said, voice small.

He heard Shirou smile rather than saw it, letting out a small whine as Shirou stood up. Shirou chuckled, patting Yoru’s head.

“I’ll be right back, okay? Just going to change.”

“Just use my stuff… doesn’t matter either way in the end.” Yoru mumbled, slowly sitting up to give his boyfriend a pout.

Shirou smiled, eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “If you’re okay with that.”

Yoru nodded, motioning to his bag before looking away. “Go for it.”

After Shirou changed his clothes, Yoru grabbed his wrist and pulled him back onto the bed, immediately burying his head in Shirou’s shoulder. Shirou chuckled softly, the sound reverberating in his chest and making Yoru relax.

This felt right.

“You know that whenever you have a bad night, you can come to my room, right? Just because we’re not in Hokkaido doesn’t mean you have to suffer by yourself.”

“I know.” Yoru whispered, curling up against Shirou’s side. “I just kind of… blanked.”

He didn’t tell him how for hours his head screamed at him, churning the guilt and what his dream said over and over until it made him sick. How he barely wanted to move because every inch of him hurt and the thought of doing anything was enough to kill any emotions in his chest, leaving him hollow, shivering, and overwhelmed.

He clung tighter to Shirou, drinking in the kindness and warmth that he was radiating.

Yoru wondered how long it would last.


	40. Chapter 39: Lions and Gazelles

A few days later, Yoru was stuck inside going over what information he’d failed to register after the nightmare while the others practiced outside with a match. He didn’t mind it much since it was quiet and he wasn’t getting distracted, but he would much rather be outside in the sun instead of inside any day.

Yoru looked up from his notebook, raising an eyebrow as Kudou came walking into the cafeteria along with the rest of the team. “I take it we’ve found out who the next opponent is?”

“Yeah,” Kudou stated, placing a hand on his hip. “Our second game in FFI’s Asia preliminaries has been decided. It’s Qatar’s team, Desert Lion.”

“Desert Lion?” Endou repeated.

The others glanced at each other before Kabeyama looked at Kudou. “What sort of team are they?”

“This team is characterized by their lasting endurance and the resilient strength of their lower bodies. In order to fight them, you’ll need to fortify your basic physical strength and physical abilities.”

Yoru frowned, lightly tapping his fingers against his leg. Was that really all they could do to prepare for a match against Qatar? Only building muscle and endurance felt far too…. Simple.

“You will build up your bodies concerning these two points until our game with Qatar. Understood?”

“Yes sir!”

“Then I’ll leave the specifics up to you. Yukimura, come with me.”

Yoru lifted his gaze from where it had locked onto his notebook, looking at Coach Kudou. “Uh, yes sir.” He got to his feet, following Coach Kudou from the cafeteria.

\----

Twenty minutes later, the team was running laps around the school and Yoru was, well, feeling a bit stupid, to say the least.

He groaned as he stared at his notes, scratching his head like maybe the possible plays Inazuma Japan could do would come faster. Kudou watched him from where he leaned against the wall, reminding Yoru a lot of his mom during their sessions when she watched his every move. He sighed, leaning back in his seat.

“I don’t know; wear them down? Get them so cold their joints want to freeze up?” He sighed, exasperated. “I’m not good at this kind of thing, Coach.”

“That’s the whole point of this training, Yukimura.”

Yoru let out another groan, dragging a hand down his face. “There’s no way Desert Lion is unbeatable if you don’t wear them down; no team is that strong.”

“Right, so what would you suggest the players do against them?”

“I-I don’t know…” Yoru sighed, wracking his brain for any inkling of what Coach Kudou wanted him to be thinking of. He wasn’t this kind of thinker to begin with: he needed to see the opposing players in action at least once, or at the very least have a better idea of what they were able to do.

“Yukimura, you can’t be a coach if you don’t know how to handle the minimum amount of information.”

Yoru groaned in response, resting his head in his hands. “How am I supposed to train the players _properly_ , then?! The weakness could be anything!”

“But what do you _know_ about them?”

“They’ve trained in deserts which means hot weather and little shade. Strong endurance, toned lower bodies.”

“Which means that if we have any hope of beating them….”

“…We have to get on equal levels of endurance?” Yoru questioned, hating the words as they came out of his mouth. There was no way it could be that easy. Nor would it help them in the end; Qatar’s been training their endurance and legs for months, at least. Inazuma Japan had under a week.

“But, Coach, there’s no way that’s going to work. They—”

“Have a little faith in the team, Yukimura.” Kudou interrupted, making Yoru’s face turn bright red. It wasn’t that he didn’t have faith in them, it was just… Something about this didn’t feel right. “We just have to wear Desert Lion down. We already have the key to winning on the team.”

“We do?”

\----

 “Yukimura, what are you doing?” Kudou asked, raising an eyebrow as Yoru pulled ice trays out of the freezer when everyone was getting ready to head for the stadium.

Yoru held out a fairly small, portable cooler he’d found before setting it back on the table. “Today’s going to be super hot, right? Hot weather, lots of running, and little water makes for overheated players.”

He dumped the ice cubes into the cooler, filling it up as much as he could before adding as cold water as he could. “If anyone collapses, I’d rather they not get heatstroke or something.”

The surprise on Kudou’s face was almost laughable. Yoru smiled, winking at their coach. “I may not be good at coach-related stuff, but I like to think I’m pretty good at making sure they’re well taken care of, if I can plan for it at least.”

Kudou hummed, a thoughtful look on his face as Yoru closed the cooler and set it next to his bag. “I may have misjudged you.”

“Eh, it happens. Coaching has never really been my strong suit to begin with.” Yoru laughed, grinning. “Shirou, on the other hand? He’s _awesome_ at this kind of stuff: he does more coaching at Hakuren than our actual coach does! I’m just their manager and give tips here and there. I’m like… the co-coach of the co-coach.”

 Kudou raised an eyebrow, amusement in his eyes. Yoru laughed once more before scampering over to Shirou as he came downstairs.

\----

The starting lineup was the same as it was for Australia, which made Yoru’s curiosity over what the key to the match was grow. He’d had a hunch, but the fact the key wasn’t in any of the players Yoru knew the most about was still a bit surprising.

He studied Desert Lion’s glows warily, noticing how each one seemed to almost thirst for blood. They were biding their time, stalking the opponent.

It made Yoru uneasy.

Hiroto quickly got hold of the ball, dribbling up the field. The Desert Lion player that had a purple-blue bandana over his head charged forward, sliding into a tackle that ended in a fight for the ball.

Hiroto managed to keep the ball,  continuing to run forward before passing it to Kidou.

Yoru frowned as he watched the match continue. Something about how Desert Lion was acting was off.

They shouted words and moved in ways that, really, should have caused Inazuma Japan a lot more trouble than they did. Like they were putting on a show and then stepping on the brakes at the last second to make it seem like Inazuma Japan had the upper hand.

It barely took any time at all for Inazuma Japan to score a goal.

Sure, it was with Kazemaru’s new hissatsu that took literally _everyone_ by surprise, but Yoru couldn’t shake the feeling that it was too easy.

He frowned, watching Desert Lion’s players closely as Midorikawa feinted a pass to Shirou so Hiroto could score. His eyes widened as he took in Desert Lion’s overreactions seconds after they slowed their pace just enough Hiroto and the others got through, the sly smiles that graced their lips the moment Inazuma’s backs were turned and the flare of excitement in each of Desert Lion’s glows.

‘They’re just….’ Yoru bit his lip as the thought crossed his mind, looking over at Coach Kudou. “Um… Coach Kudou…?”

“What is it, Yukimura?”

“You noticed it too, right?”

Kudou turned his eyes to the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun. Yoru glanced at the sky as well, biting his lip.

That would be a yes.

“The first half is almost over.” Otonashi said, checking her watch.

“Still, I’m amazed to see Desert Lion run around so much.”

“It’s like a walk in the park to them, I’m sure.” Yoru explained, noticing how sweat was beginning to bead along many of Inazuma Japan’s players skin, but Desert Lion barely broke a sweat. “Deserts are usually way worse than this, temperature wise.”

The whistle ending first half rang through the air, so Yoru helped pass out bottles and towels for the others as Aki told them they were doing great.

“Let’s keep up this pace for the second half, too!” Endou proclaimed, before his smile fell into a puzzled expression. The others were too focused on catching their breath to respond.

“Try not to overwork yourselves,” Yoru told them with a small smile. “The sun’s beating down on you guys pretty fiercely today.”

Tsunami smiled as he panted, giving Yoru a thumb’s up. “Don’t worry, Yukimura! We’ve got this!”

Yoru smiled, trying not to show too much of his worry. “I’m just saying, be careful.” Deciding to change the topic, Yoru told the group what he knew of Desert Lion’s tells, hoping to ease the inevitable fight they’d be facing.

Yoru’s fears came to light as the second half started with Desert Lion in an aggressive lineup, their glows bursting at the seams with anticipation and smiles hungry.

The break had done little to help Inazuma Japan’s players; their fatigue had only worsened now that their bodies had gotten a taste of relief from the hot sun, and it was only made worse as Desert Lion went on the attack.

The same player that had taken on Hiroto at the start of the game charged through Kidou and Midorikawa with ease, doing the same to Hijikata and Kogure not even a moment later.

Yoru bit his lip, shaking his head slightly. “They were totally playing with us in the first half..” He mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Endou managed to block the shoot, but the damage Desert Lion had wanted to conflict was done. Midorikawa collapsed to the ground, shoulders heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

Yoru cursed under his breath, getting to his feet and grabbing one of the towels as Coach Kudou announced a change in players.

“What are you doing?” Otonashi asked, watching as Yoru knelt down next to their bags. As Tachimukai helped Midorikawa back to the bench and Kurimatsu took his place, Yoru smiled at her and opened the cooler.

“I was worried something like this was going to happen, so I thought this might help.” He explained, dipping the towel into the ice water and wringing it out. He stood back up and handed the towel to Midorikawa, who looked at the towel uneasily. He probably didn’t like admitting he was exhausted. “Here, it’ll help, I promise. It’s not as cold as it was at Raimon, but I’d say it’ll do the job for the rest of the game.”

Midorikawa sighed, taking the damp towel a moment later. “…Thank you.”

“No problem. Just rest, okay?”

It wasn’t much longer before another Inazuma Japan player dropped from exhaustion.

Tsunami and the ball were both chucked into the goal, making Yoru wince. It certainly hadn’t looked too pretty from here, he could only imagine how Tsunami and Endou felt. Endou helped Tsunami get up, but it seemed like Tsunami could barely manage it even with Endou’s assistance.

“Their motive was to reduce Inazuma Japan’s stamina!” Megane gasped softly, causing the other managers to look at him with wide eyes.

“Is that why they played so roughly in the first half?”

“So that’s why everyone looks so exhausted…”

“There’s also today’s hot weather. At this rate…”

“They’re like a pack of lions,” Yoru added, eyes focused on the field. “and we’re the gazelles.”

“You guys are just like travelers who wandered into the desert by mistake,” Desert Lion’s captain said, smirking. “All we do now is wait for you to dry up and die.”

Seeing that Hiroto and Tsunami were about to be brought off the field, Yoru grabbed two more towel and opened the cooler again, dipping them in the water.

Yoru draped the towel across the backs of their necks from where they were sitting on the ground, holding in a chuckle as they boy jumped a few inches off the ground in surprise. “Sorry,” He said, leaning over to smile at them in apology. “Hope they help, though.”

“Yukimura, you are awesome.” Tsunami declared, taking the towel and leaning his head back so he could place it on his forehead. “This definitely helps!”

Hiroto nodded in agreement, smiling at Yoru gratefully, “Thanks.”

 “No problem~” Yoru sang, plopping down next to Tsunami. He turned his attention back to the game, worry spiking in his chest as Shirou fell instead of landing on his feet from bandana boy’s steal. The Prince forced himself back onto his feet, teetering to the side for a moment as he ran to catch up with Gouenji and Kidou.

 Kidou passed to Shirou, and Yoru could see that Wolf Legend wasn’t as powerful as it should have been with ease; he was too exhausted to shoot it full power. Shirou managed to stay on his feet long enough to see his shoot be caught, and Yoru quickly leapt to his feet when he collapsed.

“Shirou!”

Endou and the others ran to Shirou’s side as he tried to get up but wasn’t able to. Yoru itched to run out onto the field and join them.

Out of all the players, Shirou was the least used to the heat; Hokkaido never got this hot, and the match with Epsilon in Okinawa didn’t push this hard, either.

Well, not in the same way.

“Looks like you’ll be at your limit soon. We’ll acknowledge that you did pretty well in these temperatures.”

Yoru growled, glaring at Desert Lion’s captain. He knew that he was just stating the facts, but the condescension in his tone made Yoru’s blood boil.

“We’ll be the ones to win in the end, since we’ve been tempered to these extremes.” Bandana boy said cockily.

“How much can your specialty plays withstand our attacks?”

Yoru growled, finding he agreed with Fudou’s growl of, “They sure talk big.”

His anger was momentarily forgotten, though, as Kudou announced another switch in players, brining Toramaru in Fubuki’s place. As Toramaru got warmed up, Yoru darted out onto the field, meeting Kidou halfway as he brought Shirou over.

“Sorry I didn’t last to the end,” Shirou breathlessly laughed. Yoru smiled, slinging one of Shirou’s arms over his shoulders.

“Don’t be. I’d rather you go as long as you can instead of push to hard and hurt yourself.”

Yoru helped Shirou ease down to the ground, smiling in thanks as Otonashi handed him a damp rag. He placed it along the back of Shirou’s neck, feeling him relax against his side.

They turned to the match, watching as Toramaru breezed through Desert Lion’s plays. Yoru let out an impressed hum, though it quickly turned into cold surprise as Toramaru hesitated and the timidness in his glow flared to life before he changed directions and back passed to Gouenji.

The hesitation looked far too familiar.

Yoru shook his head, dismissing the thought. He had to be overthinking things.

Tachimukai managed to stop Desert Lion from getting close to the goal, knocking the ball from their possession. Yoru felt his shoulders relax. All they had to do was keep the score as is for a little while longer, and they’d be okay.

“Hmph, what a useless bunch of guys. Things wouldn’t be like this if I were out there.”

Yoru took a deep breath from Fudou’s words, anger stirring beneath his skin. “They’ve been playing under the sun with little to no shade for almost thirty minutes now,” He hissed, glaring at Fudou. “Stop acting like you’re high and mighty just because you’re a good player.”

“If you’ve got a problem, leave the bench.” Kudou agreed, not budging an inch from where he was watching the match.

Fudou let out a surprised grunt, gaping at Coach Kudou before clicking his tongue and looking away.

Shirou placed a hand on Yoru’s knee, shaking his head. “He’s not worth it, Yoru.” He whispered, meeting Yoru’s gaze. “I know how you feel, but right now we should be focusing on the match.”

Yoru sighed, heart clenching painfully as he nodded. Shirou wasn’t quite correct in saying he knew how Yoru felt about Fudou’s attitude, but Yoru also knew that Shirou didn’t know the full story. He smiled at Shirou, giving him a small nod before turning his attention back to the match.

Kazemaru caught the loose ball, but Desert Lion started closing in, planning on cornering him.  He kicked the ball into the air before Desert Lion could get too close, but the chances of it making to Kidou were slim.

Thankfully, Toramaru appeared in a flash, catching the ball. He had the perfect chance to shoot, but Yoru’s hopes that he’d take the chance were dwindling. Toramaru was surely the key to this match, but the timidness and fear cloaking his glow refused to let him do what he wanted.

The direction of Toramaru’s kick switched mid-kick, turning into a pass instead of a shoot. Gouenji bared his teeth, angry and clearly frustrated as he used Bakunetsu Storm.

The shoot was stopped by the goalkeeper’s Storm Rider, and Gouenji used the chance to ask Toramaru why he didn’t shoot.

“Hey, Yoru… Doesn’t Toramaru seem a bit similar to you when you first joined our matches at Hakuren?”

Yoru blinked, looking at Shirou. Shirou was watching the match intently, but his gaze turned to Yoru as he was met with silence.

“He looks like he really wants to shoot, but something’s holding him back.”

“You think?” Yoru asked, looking back to the match. “I wasn’t sure if I was overanalyzing it…”

Shirou nodded, turning back to the match as well. “It’s okay though; Captain and the others will help him.”

Yoru laughed, smiling. The tightness in his chest loosened from Shirou’s confidence, the words reminding him that Endou and the others really were amazing in that sense. “You’re right. I can’t believe I forgot who we’re dealing with here.”

Shirou laughed, though the sweet sound was cut short as Desert Lion launched a surprise attack from the corner and ruthlessly scored a goal.

“…We can’t go into extra time like this.” Yoru mumbled after a moment, glancing at the sky. “Most, if not all the team, are exhausted.”

Toramaru and Gouenji ran forward with the ball, the rest of the team following as quickly as they could. Everyone’s movements were sluggish, exhaustion weighing down on them like weights. Yoru bit his lip, eyes scanning the players as he tried to find any last-minute openings.

Toramaru was quickly coming up to the goal with Gouenji, and Yoru’s hand curled into a fist. “Come on Toramaru,” He whispered. “You need to shoot. Stop holding back.”

Yoru’s shoulders slumped in defeat as Toramaru passed to Gouenji, though it quickly turned into a wince as Yoru watched Gouenji kick the ball at Toramaru as hard as he could. Beside him, Shirou let out a quiet chuckle.

“He did _that_ to you back at Mt. Fuji?”

“Right to the face.”

Yoru’s jaw dropped, but he quickly snapped it shut again in favor of focusing on the conversation taking place on the pitch.

“We need you to play your best!”

“This _is_ my best!” Toramaru snapped in return, looking away from Gouenji for a moment before meeting Gouenji’s glare with an angry expression of his own. “People score when I make assists! It’s better that way!”

Toramaru’s gaze dropped for a moment before snapping back to Gouenji, tone softer. “That way, I won’t be taking away from anyone else’s participation. We’ll all be able to enjoy soccer.”

Yoru’s heart ached for the younger boy, a soft sigh escaping him as he pushed his bangs from his face. “God, he really _is_ similar…” He mumbled, looking away from the scene. He felt Shirou pat his back, comforting and steady.

“Don’t give me that bullcrap!” Gouenji snapped, tone softening ever so slightly. “That kind of soccer isn’t fun at all.”

Gouenji continued to speak for a few minutes, assuring Toramaru that he and the others weren’t weak enough to not accept his plays.  Even Endou and Kidou joined in to assure the young boy.

Their words got through to Toramaru, who asked once if he really could go all out.

“Try and surprise me, Toramaru!”

The match resumed with Desert Lion’s throw in, and thanks to Gouenji’s words everyone was fired up. Tobitaka charged forward, causing the player with the ball to pass to someone else. Kazemaru stole the ball, passing it to Kidou.

Yoru watched with bated breath as Toramaru was passed the ball, breezing through Desert Lion’s defenses with no trouble.

Coach Kudou smirked, “His body’s flexibility to dodge intense charges. His body balance that never breaks even when he falls… he didn’t attain those from training. That’s just Toramaru’s talent.”

“I see. In order to get him to play at his full potential, the other team had to be brought down with exhaustion.” Hiroto explained, looking over to Kudou. “For that to occur, we had to be trained for endurance, is that right?”

“Players each have situations for them to play in.” Kudou explained, still watching the match. “Teams each have conditions they need to fulfill in order to win. It’s impossible to continue a winning streak unless the abilities of the players are brought out appropriately.” He paused a moment, subtle passion coating his next words. “You can’t hold grudges about strength without regretting in this world!”

Yoru turned his attention back to the match, thinking about Kudou’s words as he watched Toramaru pass to Kazemaru and back. The coating of timidness and fear around his glow disappeared, strong and blinding excitement and determination flaring to life in its place.

Toramaru lifted a leg, planting it firmly in the ground behind him as a phantasmal tiger roared to life behind him. “Tiger Drive!” Toramaru shouted, golden yellow energy covering his right foot and transferring to the ball from the kick. Like a comet, the ball raced towards the goal, the tiger phantom appearing behind the ball and giving it a boost.

Desert Lion’s goalkeeper once again used Storm Rider, but Tiger Drive blew through it with ease.

Yoru grinned, letting  out a cheer. “All right!” Yoru high-fived Tsunami and Shirou, giggling.

“But how come someone this good didn’t play in the Football Frontier?” Kabeyama asked, causing Toramaru to turn around and explain.

“I couldn’t. I’m still a sixth grader in elementary school.”

“Elementary school?!” The rest of the players on the pitch exclaimed in surprise.

“I see, so that’s why.” Megane chimed in, adjusting his glasses so the light shined off them. “The Football Frontier is a national tournament for junior high school students.”

“But the Football Frontier International takes different cultures of countries into consideration, so anyone fifteen years old or younger can participate.” Fuyuka finished, causing Megane to let out a distressed shout as she once again stole his spotlight.

“I see,” Otonashi nodded, “That’s why there wasn’t any information on Toramaru in the FF database.”

“That was my line!” Megane cried, making Yoru chuckle softly.

“But if you take me lightly, I’ll steal the ace’s seat before you know it.” Toramaru grinned, turning to face Gouenji and the others. “I’ll be even better than you some day, Gouenji!”

\----

Yoru crept downstairs, exhaustion and nerves buzzing under his skin.

He knew Shirou would be disappointed in him for, once again, not going to wake him up, but he hated the possibility of waking up the others along with Shirou. Besides, he’d been doing so well before this with nightmares: they’d almost stopped completely.

Now it felt like he was having one every other night.

Once he was downstairs, Yoru was quick to leave the building. He didn’t leave the school grounds, sticking to the soccer pitch and the area around it. His nerves felt like they were on fire, begging him to move and do _something_ instead of sit and let himself rot away.

Yoru felt like he was on auto pilot, could feel his strides getting longer and faster. His breath started to come out in pants, wind whipping past him as he ran faster and faster, feet pounding into the ground.

His leg began to burn with his scar stretching uncomfortably, though he completely ignored it in favor of simply feeling something other than the crushing guilt and unease that pressed down on him.

 _Don’t stop…_ A voice whispered, fading with the wind, _They’ll leave you if you stop._

Yoru grit his teeth, pushing his legs hard and making himself move faster. ‘Shut up, shut up, shut up!’

Yoru choked on a shout of surprise as his bad leg buckled under him, pain lancing up his leg as he crashed to the ground. His elbows ached from the impact, hissing through his teeth with a slight grunt as he pushed himself.

Sweat dripped down his chin, mixing with tears that soaked into packed dirt. Yoru dug his nails in, barely feeling the pain as he pulled them into fists and his nails protested against the hard ground. He clenched his eyes shut, chest rising and falling irregularly as he swallowed around whimpers.

Slowly, Yoru pushed himself back onto his heels before letting himself fall onto his back, not bothering to stop the impact as he knocked the air from his lungs. He stared at the stars, trying to focus on the pain in his leg and hands instead of the thoughts running wild around him.

They twirled and played across Yoru’s vision, colorful phantoms of what could be and what had been, performing in a circle around him. Like he was their rose tree.

Yoru groaned, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He almost wanted to laugh.

“Why does this always happen after Watanabe?” He muttered, digging his palms in a little harder. “I just want to forget.”

The phantoms giggled, twisted grins on their faces as they danced across his vision once more.

 _You’ll have to tell them, Yoru._ They giggled, ghosting across Yoru’s skin.

_Show them who you really are._

**Author's Note:**

> “Magic” exists in this universe, which is what gives the soccer players their Hissatsu Techniques and makes the legend of Licott Island, well, not a legend.  
> Yoru’s magic is wind and (in my personal opinion because this isn’t a real category in the Inazuma Eleven universe) darkness based, but there is ancient magic in his family that causes him to be able to sharpen his eyesight to the point he could see a person's very psyche.  
> Fubuki is aged up a few months so he is in 3rd year with Yoru and Tsunami. Everyone else is the same- 2nd and 1st years for AA, 3rd and 2nd years after FFI (I’d imagine)
> 
> [](https://ibb.co/cwrCLm)   
> 


End file.
